An Unexpected Turn of Events
by TimJelly
Summary: After fleeing in hopes of forgetting Lucas and all the pain he had brought into her life she never expected to wind up in Middle Earth. Through a chance encounter Addy quickly finds herself on a journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the vicious dragon Smaug the Terrible. Will she ever find out why she was brought to this strange land? Thorin/ OC
1. Chapter 1

She was lost and she knew it. Running into the forest was quickly proving to have been a terrible mistake. But she could not stop, he was right behind her. She knew full well that if he managed to catch up to her this time it would be the end. Hoping to throw him off her track she took a sudden turn, which much to her surprise and anguish led to a cliff. She was trapped now. It was either fight for her life or jump to her death. Adelaide slowly turned around knowing what was to greet her. How on earth had he found her this time? She had gone through so much trouble to make sure there was no way he could follow her to New Zealand, it's literally across the world. She had changed her name, got a new passport, license, AND social security card. It had been almost impossible but she managed somehow. Addy had to give it to him, the man had determination.

"You've always known I love a good chase, too bad this is to be our last." He gloated while stepping closer to her.

Desperate for any way to escape Adelaide looked around frantically only to find there was nothing she could do, so she decided to play with him a little; if he was to kill her she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

"You are such a sick fuck you know that." She spat at him.

He mockingly lifted his hand to his heart and wore a pained expression on his face.

"You know Addy that really hurts, I thought you would be a bit miffed by our last encounter but there is no need for such caustic words my dear."

"Don't you dare call me that!" She screamed at him. She was beginning to shake with rage. "The second you laid your hands on me I stopped being 'your dear' you dick."

"You were always overtly dramatic Addy," he sighed. "You cannot keep blaming me for these ideas you've concocted in your head."

She was going to rip his face off.

"IDEAS?! You have to be joking! You stabbed me and left me for dead! You killed my only friend! Please explain how I am being overly dramatic." The pain was so fresh she could still feel the cold steel slicing through her skin. Seeing him was like being stabbed all over again, sadly she knew that was probably how this encounter would end.

"Oh Addy that was all just a big misunderstanding; I truly hope you don't harbor any bad feelings towards me for that whole mess of a situation." He cooed.

"You can't even imagine what type of feelings I harbor towards you Lucas." She growled in response.

"Oh well, I guess that's understandable given the circumstances. But we shall not let that ruin our evening." Lucas said as he reached into his jacket pocket for something she could not see. Instead of the bowie-knife she was expecting he pulled out a hand gun complete with a suppressor. He was going to shoot her. He was going to shoot her and leave her in the woods where no one would ever find her. She always felt like she had been living on borrowed time. The doctors had said it was miraculous that she managed to live after the stabbing. After having escaped the first time Addy knew life would be a constant game of cat and mouse. And here it would all come to an end.

She would not beg for her life. Memories of the countless times she had begged Lucas to stop hurting her in any which way began to run through her mind. These pathetic moments of her past made her angrier than anything. It was her fault she had been stabbed and that Laura had died. She could have stopped his beatings at any moment, but the pain of him leaving was far worse compared to the pain she had to endure being with him. She had been a weak person then, but not now. Now she would fight back, even if she was to die she would pass knowing she did what she could to escape.

He began inching closer to her. Adelaide stood her ground and stared directly into his eyes. She could see the surprise on his face; usually she would cower into a defensive position in hopes of making whatever was to come a little less painful. Not tonight. He was close enough to touch her now. He cautiously extended his hand and stroked her cheek like he had done countless times before. In that moment Addy remembered what it felt like to be loved. He had been her first and only. It didn't take long for the monster that consumed his soul to appear however. They had been together for four years. The first being pure bliss the last three being utter hell.

For Lucas, seeing Adelaide again tonight had brought back emotions he had not been anticipating. He truly had loved her, but his compulsion to make her feel pain was far greater, it always won.

He pressed himself against her body and began stroking her hair. Whispering into her ear he said "Before this happens I just felt I should let you know that out of all the women I have ever dated, you I loved the most; and that is precisely why I must kill you. If I cannot have you then no one ever will." He purred.

With that he pressed the gun into the bottom of her chin. He leaned in to kiss her one last time and Adelaide let him knowing it would buy her some time at least. During the kiss Addy slowly reached down her thigh for the dagger she always kept sheathed there, quickly thanking God that she had worn a dress. Lucas was deep into the kiss and hadn't felt a thing. Conscious not to waste time she hurriedly brought the knife up to his heart, the same exact place he had stabbed her. With his eyes still closed she dug it in as quickly and as deeply as she could. He abruptly ended the kiss and hit her across the face. They both staggered back from the ledge. Addy quickly recovered and scrambled for any footing she could find. Within seconds Lucas was upon her. He picked her up by her throat and threw her against a nearby tree. She must have broken a rib or two since a searing pain shot through her midsection just then. Lucas bent down to enclose his hands around her neck once more and began squeezing the life out of her. She grasped the knife and twisted with all the strength she could muster. Lucas screamed out in agony but did not cease, he merely squeezed harder. She could feel the lack of oxygen affecting her, her vision began to blur and black dots appeared. In the back of her mind she was happy things had come to this. For over two years now she wandered from place to place, settling down when she felt it was safe enough only to be found yet again. Time after time she had narrowly escaped. But not tonight, not this time. She could almost feel the freedom of it all, to be free of Lucas would be a freedom like no other. In that moment she knew she wanted to live.

Praying for any sort of respite Addy hastily removed the knife from his original wound and embedded it even deeper into his stomach. Lucas had not anticipated this and dropped her suddenly. Addy had been expecting this however and clumsily landed on her feet, after a moment of catching her breath she ran. Having not looked back Addy hadn't realized that Lucas had found his way back to his gun. Addy cried out when an agonizing pain hit her in the arm, but she did not stop, not this time. Addy continued to run for what felt like an eternity until she suddenly ran into what felt like a tree. She didn't know if the culprit was shock, exhaustion, or blood loss but she fainted all the same.


	2. Chapter 2

Addy felt pain. That was proof enough that she was indeed still alive. Her whole body was throbbing in protest of her actions the night before. Relenting to open her eyes she rolled over secretly hoping that someone had found her out in the woods and that now she was in a hospital bed somewhere on the mend. Knowing that not to be the case she decided it was time to wake up and find her way to safety. Slowly blinking away the darkness that threatened to envelope her Addy began taking in her surroundings. It was daytime now and she wasn't alone. The pair seemed to be in a clearing; she was lying down with her head propped up on something hard while the stranger was sitting beside her. Upon further investigation she realized that he was sharpening some type of weapon, which worried her. She turned her head to get a better look at the stranger, silently praying that it was not Lucas. Much to her delight it was not.

Upon first glance she could see that he was a thick man with long dark wavy hair. He was wearing layers of odd clothing that Addy had never seen the likes of before. The man had an air of elegance about him that brought the word royalty to mind. It was his stature that elicited a pang of sympathy from Adelaide, it looked as if he had the weight of the world on his very shoulders. Looking down at herself she was surprised to see that the man must have put his cloak across her during the night; no wonder she hadn't awoken from the cold. This brought warmth to her heart, he hadn't even known her and yet he still cared enough to go a night without in hopes of making her comfortable. Lifting the cloak Addy realized that her wounds seemed to be somewhat bandaged, albeit crudely. She was mindful as to not make any sudden movements in case the man meant her harm. With his weight alone she didn't stand much of a chance if it came to one on one combat. Because of this she decided her best move would be to sneak off in hopes of finding civilization of some sort, a hospital would be ideal, but she would settle for a phone if need be. However, much to her chagrin, Addy was a bit clumsier than usual with her wide array of injuries. Forgetting which arm had been the victim of last night's shooting Addy rolled onto her right arm to begin the daunting task of rising. Putting weight on her bad arm proved to be a mistake. In attempts to be as quiet as possible she bit her lip to suppress the sob that threatened to escape her lips; in fact she bit so hard that she actually drew blood. With that she managed to take her first step only to find that she must have sprained her ankle while escaping. This pain she had not been anticipating.

"Fuckkkk!" Addy cried out to no one in particular. The pain was far greater having had a night to set in. This caught the man's attention and he was by her side in an instant.

"You are very hurt and have lost a great deal of blood, you should rest a while longer before rising" the man explained while gently pushing her back down to the ground. His voice was very soothing and the compassion that was in his eyes made her blush. Why did this guy care? Addy then looked down at herself for a more thorough inspection finally seeing that the entirety of her right side, from the gun wound down, was caked in blood; no wonder she had lost consciousness. Sadly she had seen worse things done to her small frame.

"No no I'm fine really, this probably isn't even all my own blood" she reassured him half heartedly realizing how odd that must sound.

Ignoring his advice Addy was soon able to take a few steps with support from the stranger. Feeling awkward not knowing who this man was Addy decided to introduce herself in hopes he would do the same.

"I'm Adelaide by the way but everybody usually just calls me Addy," she said extending her unused hand towards him.

"Thorin son of Thrain," he said whilst bowing slightly, ignoring her hand. Confused by his odd introduction Addy began walking again, this time on her own. Thorin followed closely in case she fell.

"You really aren't in any sort of shape to be traveling on your own. Where is your guardian?" Thorin asked sternly.

"Guardian? Are you serious? I'm 24, I'm perfectly capable of doing anything I wish on my own" Addy countered. She did not wish to come across as such a bitch but who was he to tell her that she could not be out on her own. It's the twenty-first century for Christ sake!

"No matter your age Miss Adelaide but you are a young woman, out in a strange land, with no man to protect you, I hardly see how this has worked in your favor thus far." Thorin said with more than a hint of authority. He was a dwarf and greatly believed in the practice of men accompanying women everywhere; how else were they to be protected from the evils of the world?

It was then that she began laughing; she didn't quite know if it was from the stress of the night before or the odd misogynistic man standing in front of her, she just felt the need to laugh. After a while of having dated Lucas, Addy seemed to have run out of tears along the way so she eventually reverted to laughing instead. Thorin must have thought her a mental person but she could not keep it in any longer. After having laughed for quite some time Addy finally gave notice to Thorin. It seemed to be making him uncomfortable so she tried her best to stop.

"Do you mean to offer me insult by laughing at my beliefs Miss Adelaide?" Thorin snarled at her.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, was it that obvious? It's 2013, I'm pretty sure that women have been allowed to do as they please for quite some time now." Addy countered. "Now if you'll excuse me I really must be moving on, or do I need permission for that too?" She said with a sarcastic bite. If Lucas hadn't died of his wounds she was not about to stick around and wait for him to find her to exact revenge. Addy turned to thank Thorin for all that he had done, after all his presence alone might have scared the bugger away.

As Addy turned to thank Thorin she noticed that he was staring at her. His face exposed such intense hatred it reminded her of Lucas right before he had stabbed her. It unnerved her to her core. Had she really been that awful to him just now? Devising a way to apologize without completely relinquishing her dignity Addy began to speak, when suddenly Thorin slapped his hand over her mouth and roughly dragged her injured form behind a nearby boulder. Afraid of how deeply she must have insulted Thorin for him to act like this Addy began struggling against his form. She hadn't survived last night to be murdered by some arrogant stranger. She also hadn't been expecting him to be so strong; it was like wrestling with the rock that was providing them cover. Thorin quickly realized that she must not have seen the Orc pack that was just fifty feet away.

"If you move or scream the Orcs will kill us both, now be quite and sit still." He growled into her ear.

"Orcs? What the hell are Orcs?" She whispered as quietly as possible.

Thorin looked at her as if she were an alien, maybe she was, that would be an interesting turn of events she thought sardonically.

"Just keep quiet!" He hissed "They will surly find us since my belongings are spread about and the fire still burns. I am going to try and crawl over to my ax, if they are to see me get up and run as fast as you can into the woods. I will do my best to find you if I am to live" he avowed and with that he was gone.

Interested in what an Orc actually was, Addy peered around the boulder to catch a glimpse. What she saw disgusted her. They looked as if man had mated with the world's foulest animal. They had the form of a man but were grey skinned, slimy, with pointy ears and even pointier teeth, they were abominations. These things could not actually exist. This was all so surreal. I am either dead and in some weird purgatory/ Hell where you can still feel pain or I have just simply lost my mind, the latter being the more likely of the two. Finally processing what Thorin had said about running away Addy realized that in her condition the Orcs would be upon her within seconds. There would be no point in even trying. There were at least ten of them, all atop the scariest wolves she had ever seen. They were massive, especially their teeth. Where the hell was she?

Knowing full well that even if Thorin was a great fighter he didn't stand much of a chance defeating all of those Orcs along with their enormous wolves; it was then that Addy decided she would join the fight. Thorin had unknowingly saved her from encountering Lucas again so she sort of owed him in a way; also she was feeling ballsy. She had managed to live the night before, maybe her luck was finally turning. Addy had noticed that along with his axe he also had two other swords; using simple math she figured there would at least be one left up for grabs.

She had not heard any commotion yet so she figured Thorin must still be crawling back to his things. Peering around the corner Thorin had exited, Addy could see him nearly upon them. The man had balls, that was for sure. Lucas would have just hidden behind the boulder along with her like the weak man that he was. Not wishing to waste all that time crawling Addy jumped up and ran to the other sword. She didn't know if it was the adrenalin from the situation but for some reason Addy was moving like the wind, within seconds she was in the midst of the fight.

Addy was confident with a sword; she had trained with them ever since having disappeared from society two years ago. Living a nomadic life can be very dull and lonesome so she would find things to do to pass the time. In the first town she came to there had been a well-known swordsman, which was a very rare occurrence for 2011. After the whole ordeal Addy felt raw and weak, he helped her expel those feelings. One might even say she became an apprentice of sorts. Addy trained with him every moment she was not working or sleeping. She found solace in the movements. It was like dancing with a really big knife. There she learned how to take care of a blade, how to sharpen it and the likes. Ever since then she only sought refuge where she could practice her art. It made her feel safe knowing she could finally defend herself in some manner, even if it was with a bulky sword.

Thorin and Addy fought side by side. She quickly realized how much she had underestimated Thorin's abilities when it came to fighting. Even though he was comparatively smaller than the Orcs and their wolves one would have never noticed; he wielded his weapons with a ferocity Addy had never seen before. It only pushed her harder. The wolves were compulsive making them easier to kill. Addy killed three just by having them run into her sword. She managed to kill another after a few minutes of calculated fighting, but still nothing she couldn't handle. The Orcs were another story. They were nothing compared to Thorin, but neither was Addy really. Thorin had such grace while fighting Addy could barely look away. How could such a bulky being turn into such an elegant fighter? With no time to dwell on her thoughts Addy eventually began to regret her decision. Her arm was beginning to throb while sharp pains stabbed at where the bullet had embedded itself deep in the bone, her ankle wasn't faring any better either, and her head was literally about to explode. Wherever she was she hoped they had some sort of ibuprofen. She had completely forgotten about the deep cut on her head from having been thrust into a tree many times the night prior. How did Lucas always manage to find a way to make every inch of her body hurt in some fashion or another?

After a while all the wolves were dead and the pair was facing off against the last four Orcs standing. They were not skilled fighters but they were larger than both and heavier, at least for Addy. Thorin had seemed angry when she first ran out with the sword to join in on the bout, however he seemed to eventually appreciate the help she was providing. They fought well together. They were able to play off of each other's moves enough to confuse the Orcs, which helped a great deal. The Orcs were stubborn and very difficult to kill; one had to stab each at least five times before they would fall. It was a bloodbath to say the least. After the last Orc finally fell Addy couldn't find the strength to stand any longer and fainted where she stood.


	3. Chapter 3

Addy could recall being lifted by strong arms but nothing more. After having been stuck in the dark for what felt like an eternity she finally found the ability to open her eyes. She awoke in a room in a four post bed with a roaring fire in the hearth. This was not a house she was accustomed to being in. Actually it was the coziest place she had ever been. Looking down at herself she realized that she had been bathed, bandaged, and was wearing some sort of odd night gown. Utterly confused as to where she was and how she had gotten there Addy set out to find some answers.

She could hear a great deal of commotion coming from across the house. Following the noise Addy stumbled upon the most unusual group of men she had ever seen. They all had grand beards, save for one of the younger fellows, and hair that was braided in ways unbeknownst to Addy. And yet there was something familiar about the lot that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Upon further investigation she noticed a very large man sitting at the table as well. He looked to be a giant compared to the rest of them. He had the longest beard she had ever laid eyes on and was clad in grey from head to toe. He had kind eyes she noticed; they were full of wisdom it seemed. Lastly there was a shorter man standing next to the giant holding a candle over a piece of parchment. His features were boyish and his face looked as if he had never frowned once in his entire life. He had curly brown hair and wore the most peculiar clothing consisting of corduroy capris along with a dress shirt and a waist coat. The thing that seemed the most unusual about this fellow were his huge feet. He had the biggest and hairiest feet Addy had ever seen. After having thoroughly investigated the scene from behind a cupboard Addy felt it was time to make her presence known.

"Hi" was all she could think of to say. She had never really enjoyed addressing large groups of people before and there had to be at least 14 of them. They all stopped what they had been doing to look up at the strange girl who had interrupted their conversation. They all stared at her with astonishment upon their faces. It was then that she realized the one with his back to her had been Thorin. Upon turning around he quickly rose and strode over to Addy. The others watched in anticipation.

"What are you wearing? You should know full well you cannot simply come traipsing into a room full of men wearing nothing but your night gown." He said venomously. She was embarrassing him and that made her laugh. If he was offended by the amount of clothing she was wearing in that moment he would have had a heart attack if he were ever to see her in a bikini. Thorin was not amused as usual. Addy wondered if the man was even capable of smiling.

"I'm sorry to offend your eyes so from my lack of clothing" Addy said still giggling. After she realized that he truly was offended, Addy turned beet red and went back to the room she had awoken in. How dare he speak to her in that tone in front of all those men! Who did he think he was the king of the world? In the armoire she was able to find a few peculiar dresses, having nothing else to wear she figured that they would have to do. She picked the least offending of the bunch and gingerly emerged again. This time the giant with the kind eyes approached her to introduce himself.

"I am Gandalf the Grey, and you are? He asked warmly.

"My name is Adelaide Underwood but everyone usually just calls me Addy." She squeaked.

"Well Miss Underwood, we were all just having a bit of supper, would you care to join us?" He mused. Having realized that she hadn't eaten in what must have been days Addy jumped at the opportunity.

"I would be delighted!" She responded cheerily.

"Good, while you eat you can tell us how you came to have these most unusual wounds," Gandalf said as he pointed towards her arm. Addy nodded her head in response to this; had they never seen a gunshot wound before? Surely they must have seen one on television. Gandalf pulled up a chair for her between him and Thorin. Addy completely ignored the proud man to her right and fixed her attention on the bowl of soup that was brought to her by the boyish one with large feet.

"Thank you" she said in response to the meal being put in front of her.

"You are most welcome" he said sincerely. He seemed to be a bit miffed about something but was kind to her all the same. After a few bites of the warm soup Addy began to feel like herself again. Once finished, Addy sheepishly looked up at the men surrounding her. They were all staring at her, probably wondering who this odd young woman was. Gandalf was the first to break the silence.

"Now that you have had some time to restore your energy would you care telling us how you happened to come across Throin? It is very unusual for a young woman such as yourself to be traveling on her own without a companion. " He explained.

"Umm well I can't quite recall." Addy said truthfully.

"Well then my dear just explain what you can remember. How did you get these wounds?" Gandalf inquired.

"Oh you don't want to hear that story, it's a bit of a downer" she explained.

"I'm sure we can handle it." Thorin rumbled gravely.

"What Thorin means to say is that we are interested in whatever you have to share with us Miss Underwood" Gandalf reassured her.

"Well then I guess I'll start with what happened a few days back. I was at a bonfire with some friends from work. It was in the woods right outside of the ski resort we all worked at. I had been drinking so when Lucas, my ex-boyfriend, arrived I was not as responsive as I usually am in that situation. The second we locked eyes I knew what he was there to kill me. So I ran. I ran into the woods as fast as I possibly could. Looking back it was probably a poor decision but I was drunk and didn't want to bring my friends into the whole mess of a situation. I kept running until I came to a ledge. The usual quarreling ensued, ending with him pulling a gun on me. I don't quite remember how everything went down, it's all a bit blurry to be honest. From what I can remember he put the gun up to my throat while leaning in for one last kiss, luckily this gave me enough time to pull out my knife. While he was distracted I stabbed him in the chest. He then hit me across the face and we both staggered away from the precipice, I tried my best to get up and flee but Lucas was fast on my heels. He then proceeded to pick me up by my throat and threw me against a tree. He wrapped his hands around my throat and tried to squeeze the life out of me. He had almost succeeded when I took the knife out of his original wound and stabbed it deeply into his stomach. After that he dropped me and I ran. I ran for all that I was worth, but obviously you can't outrun a bullet. He shot me in the arm but I kept on running, I ran until I was suddenly stopped and then I don't remember anything after that," she explained honestly.

"What is a gun?" One of the men inquired.

"You don't know what a gun is?" Addy said shocked. How could there still be people in the world that didn't know what a gun was? Thinking of the best way to explain such a thing Addy proceeded to say "umm you know what a bow and arrow is right?" All the men agreed in unison. "Well just imagine a bow and arrow but the arrow is million times faster and smaller. If you have a piece of paper I might be able to draw it."

Just then one of the men produced a notebook along with a pencil. Addy began sketching, to the best of her abilities, a hand gun similar to the one Lucas had used on her. She showed them where the bullet went in and how it would shoot out of the opening in the front when the trigger was pulled. A dark look crossed Gandalfs face as he realized the sheer power one could wield by merely owning one of these peculiar "machines" as she had refereed to it.

"If you don't know what a gun is surely you didn't know to look for a bullet in the wound, did you?" Addy asked Gandalf.

"No my dear, I am afraid we did not," was his reply.

"I think you have to take it out in some way, otherwise I might become very sick." Addy explained sheepishly.

"And how do you propose we do this?" Thorin asked.

"Well I supposed you'll have to cut it out," Addy said with far more courage than she truly felt.

"Oin, you are the healer you shall accompany Gandalf in doing so." Thorin commanded.

Oin and Gandalf got up to begin preparing for the procedure as Addy slowly felt the blood drain from her face. If they did not know of guns here they surely did not know of anesthesia. They had already cauterized the wound meaning they would have to reopen it and dig around in hopes of finding the bullet. Upon request Addy drew a picture of a bullet as well to help in the search. Gandalf led her back to her room for the operation. He held her hand while intoning some unknown language. Suddenly Addy found herself drifting off. What seemed like a minute later Addy was awoken by Gandalf.

"The deed has been done my dear." He reassured her.

"You actually found it?" Addy croaked out while suppressing a yawn.

"Yes, it took quite a while but we managed. Now we have a few things to discuss." He looked at her solemnly.

"Okay." Had been her response, which seemed to confuse the gentle giant; he proceeded nonetheless.

He began "you are not from this world Adelaide Underwood, for we have no weapons such as these 'guns' as you called them. What I wish to know is where exactly are you from and why such a young woman as yourself would have so many scars littering her body?" It all made sense to her now; had she been in a better mental state she would have surely figured it out much sooner.

"Growing up I lived in country called America, but because of my ex I was forced to flee and find refuge elsewhere, that is what brought me to New Zealand you see. That was where I was living when he finally found me. And then all of a sudden I was here." Addy explained.

"What were you fleeing from?" Gandalf inquired.

"Oh you know, everything. When I was five my parents died in an accident of sorts and ever since then I have pretty much been on my own." Addy decided to skip the details about cars, figuring they most likely didn't have those either. "When I was eighteen I met Lucas. At first he took care of me, which I was not accustomed to since I had never really been taken care of before that, however after a year of being in a relationship he began to change. It was as if a demon possessed his very soul. He was no longer the caring man I had grown to love, he was a monster that would beat me for no reason at all. Once he beat me for chewing too loudly; that particular bout put me in the hospital for a week. But I kept going back to him because I had nothing and no one else. As the beatings escalated so did my visits to the hospital. The doctors and nurses suspected what was going on but without my consent they couldn't do much. I had wanted to tell them but knew that if Lucas were to ever find out he would simply kill me and whomever I had told. However, there was this one nurse that I had become very close with while at the hospital, her name was Laura. One night she had gotten me drunk and managed to bring me to the police station to show the recent wounds Lucas had inflicted upon me. He was arrested that evening, but was out the very next day. I had warned Lauren not to meddle but she hadn't listened. I had been staying with her when Lucas showed up to bring me home. Lauren and I knew that if he managed to actually get me there he was going to kill me. Lauren did her best to protect me that evening, but Lucas's rage quickly overpowered her. He was seconds away from stabbing her when I interjected. The knife planted itself directly into my heart. After that everything went black. I awoke in a hospital a week later to find out that Lauren had been killed and Lucas was nowhere to be found. So I began moving from town to town in hopes of keeping Lucas at bay. I actually became very skilled at it, until just recently when he found me. And now I am here, wherever 'here' actually is."

Gandalf turned to look at her with a great deal of pity in his eyes. Addy loathed pity, it always made her uncomfortable. She had adjusted to the sorrows in her life and didn't need others to feel remorse for her. She was sick of always feeling like a victim, she just wanted to feel like a normal person for once.

"You have had to endure a great deal of pain and sadness in your short life Miss Underwood. I can see that it has altered you some, but not as much as one might expect. Thorin spoke of how you came to his aid while fighting the Orcs. He was most impressed with your skill. Is sword fighting common where you come from? I find it interesting that sword fighting still exists when a gun seems to do a great deal more damage with a lot less effort." Gandalf probed.

"No it is not common. When I fled I had to take odd jobs here and there to survive. My first job was working with a blacksmith that specialized in making blades. He never asked how I came to be there, which was the main reason I began working with him in the first place. He taught me how to protect myself with and without a sword. I practiced as much as time would allow. I found comfort in it. I am nowhere near the skill of Thorin though." Addy admitted.

"Oh my dear not many can claim that they are, he is nearly two hundred years old so he has had quite a deal of time to perfect his skills." Gandalf said while chuckling. Glad to finally be off the subject of her past Addy smiled up at the caring giant. It felt odd on her face; she couldn't even recall the last time she had genuinely smiled. All of a sudden what he had just told her sunk in. Thorin was two hundred years old? Seriously, where was she?

"Well Miss Underwood it is my personal belief that you were brought here to us for some cosmically unknown reason. I trust that if you were to join us on our upcoming journey we might be able to find answers as to why."

"Journey? What sort of journey are you going on exactly?"

"I believe it would be best for the leader of the company to explain it to you." With that Gandalf rose from his seat next to the fireplace and went to the door. Gandalf proceeded to open it to find all of the dwarves milling about, obviously having just been caught eavesdropping. Addy could feel herself begin to blush, hoping they had not heard the whole of their conversation. She hated people knowing her past. Once they knew they would treat her differently, like she was made of glass or something. It infuriated her.

"I hope you all have not been snooping just now." Said Gandalf to the group strewn about in front of him. They all started shouting at the same time claiming they were simply there to see if the pair had wanted any refreshments or dessert. Gandalf knew they were lying but didn't bother reprimanding them, there was no time for that.

"Thorin we require your presence." Gandalf relayed.

Thorin gave a slight nod and a pathway cleared before him so that he could enter the room. Upon entering he noticed that Addy looked a great deal paler than she had during supper. This worried him. Thorin had carried her for three days straight to bring her to the Shire. He had done his best to keep her wounds bound and clean, but much to his dismay she had so many that she never seemed to cease bleeding. Then to hear that they were to reopen the worst of them all had almost made him lose his temper. He didn't know why he felt so strongly on the matter. It was probably because she had helped him a great deal during the fight. Going into it he knew he had no chance of winning and just hoped that the girl would find her way to safety, but instead she fought along with him. He felt responsible for her in a way now.

"Hello" Thorin said upon entering. He smiled timidly at her knowing she was more than likely angry at him for reprimanding her in the dining room earlier. He didn't mean to be so harsh with her but he saw the way his nephews were staring at her and it angered him greatly. He decided his best approach would be to apologize. She had been resting her eyes and hadn't noticed his presence until Gandalf stepped back into the room.

"Oh, hi." She said meekly. She felt weak and tired but was sick of constantly being asleep.

"How are you feeling?" Thorin inquired.

"Sore and tired but I'll live." She tried smiling then but the cut on her cheek began to reopen and she decided it was better not to.

"Are you in much pain?" He asked seeming genuinely concerned. This confused Addy, hadn't he just yelled at her in front of all those men? Why was he suddenly concerned about her well-being?

"Only every inch of my body, but I've lived through worse." She explained. A dark shadow crossed over Thorin's face then. She couldn't decipher it exactly but what she had said seemed to anger him greatly. What an odd fellow he was turning out to be.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Thorin began but was interrupted by Gandalf, who didn't seem to have time for such pleasantries.

"Thorin I asked you in here to discuss what is to happen to Miss Underwood. It has become clear that she is not from our world. She is from some distant place that up until this evening I had no idea existed. What I wish to find out is why she has been brought to us. I plan to accomplish this on our upcoming journey, which would mean she would have to accompany us." Gandalf clarified.

"Out of the question!" Thorin thundered. This surprised Addy so much so that she actually jumped out of the bed. Both men were at her side in an instant to help her back in. Feeling far too coddled Addy waved them off and got back in herself.

"And why not? You yourself said she was skilled with a sword, that reason alone should be enough to let her accompany. We need all the fighters we can get if we are to make it all the way to Erebor unscathed." Gandalf reprimanded.

"You have seen her wounds. There is no way she would make it alive! I am not going to slow down our journey and risk her life just so we can figure out why she has been dropped into our laps." Thorin retorted.

"God save me from the stubbornness of Dwarves!" Gandalf bellowed. Dwarves, so that's what these men were. No wonder they were so stout.

"This is a mistake and you know it Wizard!" Thorin roared back. And Gandalf wasn't a giant after all, he was a Wizard. How peculiar this whole situation was turning out to be. Addy was in the middle of a fight between a Dwarf and a Wizard. Maybe she was dead after all. Finding the humor in the situation laughter began bubbling out of Addy before she could cease it.

"And what do you find so entertaining Miss Underwood?" Thorin snarled.

"I'm sitting in a room with a Wizard and Dwarf fighting over my fate. How can I not laugh at that?" Addy queried.

"Well, where you find it humorous I merely find it a bother. I will not have her on the journey. It would be a danger to us all. She is better off staying here to mend with your so called 'burglar'." Thorin said with a tad bit of superiority.

"How about we ask the rest of the company? They too are risking their lives on this journey to reclaim your homeland, they might as well have a say in the matter." Gandalf snapped.

"I am the leader of the company and I say no!" Was all the Dwarf was able to get out before Gandalf whisked Addy up into his arms and brought her into the sitting room where Gandalf deposited her into a large leather chair and wrapped a blanket around. Once that was done he turned to address the Dwarves that had begun to gather around behind him. Having heard snippets of the heated conversation the Dwarves were interested to hear what both men had to say.

"Now I am sure most of you heard what our conversation was about. Miss Underwood has been brought to us by some unknown force and I feel we cannot turn our cheeks on the matter. She is here for a reason and we must find out what that reason is." Gandalf said. The group of men then turned to Thorin waiting to hear his side on the matter. These men really seemed to look up to the gruff dwarf Addy noticed.

"I find it would be all together a poor decision. Merely three days ago she suffered some terrible injuries and now she sits here in even worse condition than she was in before. We would be forced to travel slowly to make sure her condition doesn't worsen and even then if she was to heal it would take a great deal of time. What if she was still in poor health by the time we arrived at Erabor? She surely wouldn't be able to face a dragon in such a condition." Thorin explained. Dragons? What the hell kind of journey was this anyways?

"Don't I have any say in the matter?" Addy interjected. They were speaking of her like she wasn't even in the room.

"Yes of course my dear." Gandalf said.

"Now what exactly does this journey entail?" She asked.

"They are going to venture across all of Middle Earth to fight a dragon in hopes of stealing back their homeland of Erebor." Said the shortest one laced with cynicism. Addy deduced that he was not to be joining in on the adventure.

"Well that is the abbreviated version but true all the same, thank you Bilbo." Replied Gandalf warmly.

"Well that all sounds very interesting, and I don't want to seem rude but what would be in it for me if I were to join?" Addy inquired.

"Well you would be given a portion of the gold of course, that is if we were to actually be successful on our quest." Said one of the Dwarves with a magnificent white beard.

"We might also be able to find those that would know a little bit more about your predicament. I suggest we seek the council of Saruman, he is the greatest wizard in all of Middle Earth. He is bound to know something." Added Gandalf.

"Well seeing as I have no idea where I am and how I came to be here that offer is very generous. I suppose since I have nothing better to do at present I could come along. Only if Thorin agrees to it of course." Looking at Thorin, Addy continued "If you truly believe I would be that great of a burden I will not join. But as you saw I can wield a sword and I can cook as well. I will do as you say and will try my best to be as low impact as possible." Addy pleaded with Thorin. So much was running through her mind at present. What if she never did find her way back? What would she do then? How would she survive in this foreign land? She would need some means of living and from what the white haired dwarf had said they would be coming across some sort of treasure, which would take care of that issue at least. She really hoped Thorin agreed. She gave him the most heartfelt look she possible could.

Thorin looked at her with her beaten and battered face and something in him couldn't refuse. He could only imagine what it must be like for her in this strange land so far from home. He had encountered the very same thing at the age of 24 when Smaug the Terrible forced his people out of their home of Erebor. After a moment of contemplating the pros and cons Throin had finally come to a decision.

"You may come," was all he said before abruptly leaving the room.

The whole room erupted with cheers from the other Dwarves. Apparently they hadn't minded the thought of her joining as much as their leader had. They ambushed her with all of their names then. From what she could remember there were thirteen of them including Thorin. They had very odd names that seemed out of a fairy tale. There was Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Dori, Nori, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, and finally Thorin. Trying to remember their names made her feel as if she was Snow White and she had just stumbled upon the seven Dwarves. Feeling relieved that the matter had been decided Addy finally relaxed into the chair and accepted a cup from Bilbo.

"It's tea." He told her reassuringly while handing it to her.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Bilbo was it?" She said genuinely. He appeared to be the owner of the house, and didn't seem too happy that he was presently entertaining thirteen rowdy Dwarves.

"Yes. Yes it is. Bilbo Baggins, in fact. And you are most welcome. I am glad to see that you survived whatever it is that they did to you in there, sounded like nasty business." Bilbo said with a shudder.

"Are you to be coming with us on the journey as well?" She asked of him.

"Oh no, I'm afraid not. Adventures are looked down on in Hobbiton and I don't wish to bring shame to my family name." He explained. Bilbo knew he was lying, he honestly didn't care what others thought about his actions, he just didn't want to leave his hobbit hole. It had all of his favorite things and he found no particular need to part with them.

"Are you sure you should be venturing out in such a state?" Bilbo asked of Addy.

"I've grown accustomed to pain. It doesn't bother me much anymore honestly. And I do hope to find out why I was brought here. Maybe I could find a way back home even." She said in response before taking a sip.

"Not to be blunt, but it doesn't sound like you were really enjoying your life wherever you came from Miss Underwood." Bilbo said sheepishly.

"Oh no worries, I'm perfectly aware that my life thus far has been depressing to say the least, but now that Lucas might be dead I might finally have my life back." Addy said hopefully.

"Well I sure do hope you find the answers you are looking for." Bilbo said smiling at her.

"Me too Bilbo." Addy said doing her best to try and smile back without it being too painful. It must have looked as funny as it felt because Bilbo suddenly burst out laughing. Addy joined in realizing that she was actually having fun in this strange world. She finally felt free of the shackles that had bound her to the constant misery that was her life for so many years.

It was then that Thorin strode back into the room. He looked at the pair laughing by the fire and Addy swore she saw the hint of a smile reach his lips. When he noticed her looking at him his face changed back to the mask of austerity he constantly wore. Thorin made his way to the fireplace and began smoking his pipe.

Addy must have drifted off for a bit because when she awoke Bilbo was gone and the room was full of Dwarves. They began humming a hypnotic tune that she did not recognize. Thorin began singing words to go along. His voice was intoxicating; it filled every crevice of the room. Addy watched him from her chair finally having a moment to further investigate the stern dwarf. He was extremely handsome she concluded, every aspect of him indicated strength. It was his eyes that captured her attention. They were crystal blue with a hint of sadness behind them that only intrigued her more. Laura had said the same thing about her once. She said no matter what expression Addy wore you could always see the pain she had to endure behind them. It was then that Thorin caught her staring at him. Addy couldn't look away from the pain in his eyes, it was so raw. They kept eye contact until the song abruptly finished and Addy quickly looked away, suddenly embarrassed by the intimacy they had just shared.

Gandalf then came into the room and told them it was time to go to bed for they were to rise early. Thorin then walked over to the chair Addy was in and picked her up. She hadn't been expecting this and a tiny squeak escaped her lips. Thorin immediately set her down.

"I'm sorry did I hurt you?" He asked.

"No you just caught me off guard that's all." She explained.

"Well now that you know what my intentions are do I have permission to carry you to your room? Or do you wish to try yourself?" Thorin said with a mocking tone as he smirked at her. He was toying with her. Surprised by his sudden playfulness Addy replied.

"As you wish," she said while waving her had toward him as if she were royalty. Picking her up again he carried her ever so gently to the room she had been sleeping in before and set her down.

"Sleep well Lady Underwood." And with that he was gone. This guy was such a mystery! One second he would be bellowing at her for some miniscule reason only to go and do things like that! Addy didn't have any more time to relish on the matter since sleep finally overcame her.


	4. Chapter 4

**The song I used in this chapter is called 'My Father's Father' by the Civil Wars. They are an amazing band and I encourage you all to give them a chance. btw this is my first fanfic ever just letting you know. Hope you all enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy writing them :D**

Addy awoke to a great deal of fuss coming from the kitchen. Feeling revived Addy threw her legs over the side of the bed and limped over to the armoire to find some clothes for the journey. Inside was a bag with all the dresses that had been inside the night before along with a few toiletries, or at least what she thought to be toiletries. Venturing out into the house Addy quickly found the band of Dwarves sitting around the table enjoying some breakfast. As she entered the room one of the Dwarves, who she thought to be Bofur, gestured for her to sit next to him.

"You're looking fine this morning Miss Underwood! Sleep must have done you some good." Bofur exclaimed.

"You're the prettiest girl this side of the Lonely Mountain!" Another one named Ori chimed in.

Laughing at their exclamations Addy took the offered seat next to Bofur and began filling her plate with eggs and toast, excited to finally have a real meal in her stomach, it had felt like months since she had last been full.

"I'm sure that is far from true, especially with my face all puffy like this." Addy said while pointing at the subject matter.

"Those won't last forever dearie. We can see the beauty that lies underneath." The one named Balin said.

"What do you think she'll look like when the bruises finally fade?" Either Kili or Fili shouted across the table.

Their usual chatter ensued discussing what they thought Addy would look like without the bruises and cuts that covered her face. Addy thought about the discussion while she began eating. She had never truly felt pretty in her life, but that was probably just because Lucas constantly told her otherwise. Addy realized now that that was how he managed to have her stay all those years. She felt lucky that even though she wasn't particularly pretty at least someone still wanted her. Because she couldn't make ties while moving place to place she never even considered that anyone other than Lucas would ever find her attractive. She had worn baggy clothing then and never even bothered to put on makeup. She had been broken then and let it reflect in her appearance. It was in New Zealand that she finally felt that she might actually be somewhat attractive. Having worked at a ski resort they expected their staff to look presentable. It wasn't long until Addy was getting her hair done and buying clothing with an actual shape. She had sandy blonde hair that shimmered with golden highlights whenever in the sun. Her face was heart shaped with full lips and decent enough cheekbones. She was unusually pale but knew that would change once on the road. She always had a cropping of freckles appear on her dainty nose whenever outside. However, it was her eyes that she always felt were the most intriguing part about her. They were almond shaped and hazel colored. Sometimes they looked green, sometimes light brown, other times golden. They were her favorite feature. She was on the short side, not even hitting 5' and was fairly skinny. She had lost her appetite for everything while dating Lucas, but now she felt it coming back with a vengeance. She had been in New Zealand the longest, she even considered it her home now. She'd managed to make a group of friends there, but that was all gone for now she thought woefully. She would just have to make due in this odd new world. Thorin walked into the dining room then distracting her from her thoughts.

"Be ready and outside in five minutes." He ordered.

Scarfing down her eggs as fast as humanly possible Addy was sure any notion of her being pretty had most likely disappeared from the Dwarves minds. With that she went to wash her dish and put it away so Bilbo wouldn't have to. It seemed the thought hadn't crossed any of the others minds since the kitchen was a mess. Addy didn't want to leave all of this for poor Bilbo to have to clean up so she began washing dishes and putting things away. Suddenly Gandalf appeared out of nowhere.

"And what do you think you are doing Miss Underwood, the convoy is leaving this very second and you are not where you need to be." Gandalf chided.

"Well I couldn't just leave this awful mess for Bilbo to wake up to so I figured I'd just tidy things up a bit." She said.

"Oh never mind that!" Gandalf said whilst hitting his staff on the floor. Addy couldn't believe her eyes; all of a sudden everything had been put back into order.

"Now we really must be on our way if we intend to make any sort of progress before sunset." Gandalf said in haste as they walked outside to meet the others. Upon leaving the house Addy was mesmerized. She had never seen such an idyllic place in her life. Everything breathed life. There were glorious gardens in front of every house with an array of flowers she had never seen in her life. The green hills seemed to roll on forever, and all the houses were quaintly tucked away into each hilltop. No wonder Bilbo was reluctant to leave. Addy almost stayed herself, however Gandalf brought her back to reality.

"Now you will be riding with Thorin my dear." Gandalf told her while pointing to the dwarf at the front of the pack already mounted on his pony.

"Oh there's no need, I'm perfectly capable of riding on my own. I actually quite enjoy riding." Addy told the wizard.

"My dear you are in no shape to be handling a horse all by yourself, you have but one good arm and you need two. Thorin has offered his assistance and I think it to be a wise choice. Once you are in a better state of health you are welcome to ride on your own." Gandalf assured her.

"Fine." She said angrily. When were they going to stop treating her like a glass doll? She was feeling a million times better than she had been the last few days. Her arm was even beginning to heal nicely. It must have been that damn bullet that made her so sick and tired. Walking up to the front of the convoy Addy spotted Thorin and made her way over to him and his pony.

"So where am I to sit?" She asked the proud dwarf while shielding her eyes from the sun.

"It would probably be best for you to sit in front, that way if you are tired you can sleep if need be." He said with a calculating tone. So it was stern Thorin that was to keep her company today, great.

He dismounted to help her up onto the pony's back and then remounted again behind her. She began to blush out of embarrassment. She figured she ought to be used to such close contact by now, he had carried her for three days straight after all, not that she could remember any of it. She was thankful that they were in the front of the group so that no one could take notice of the effect he was having on her. With that they began their journey. Addy was a bit disappointed Bilbo hadn't changed his mind on the matter and just come along anyways, he seemed to be a very nice fellow. She would have liked to talk to him a bit more, especially after seeing what he had referred to as 'Hobbition'. What a life he must have led growing up in such a glorious place. Consumed by her thoughts Addy barely noticed that Thorin was speaking to her.

"Huh?" She asked in response to what he had said.

He repeated. "You seem to be feeling better, you look a great deal better that is." Thorin mumbled seeming a bit flustered.

"Oh yes, I am feeling much better, thank you. It must have been the bullet that was making me so sick." She replied.

"I'm glad to hear it." He replied. After having traveled for a few minutes Addy began to hear shouting in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" She asked Thorin.

"And what are you referring to?" He countered but didn't finish because Addy was shushing him.

"It sounds like someone is yelling something in the distance." She said. Gandalf then turned around to stop the party. They soon realized why he had done so when they glimpsed Bilbo's head bobbing over the hills as he ran to catch up.

"I knew he would come!" Addy said smiling. Bilbo ran as fast as his little legs allowed and was shortly upon them waving a parchment in front of him.

"I signed it!" He claimed while extending the parchment towards Balin who then proceeded to inspect the signature with his monocle.

"Everything seems to be in order here. Welcome to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield Mr. Baggins." Balin said to the Hobbit.

Gandalf began moving towards the back to greet him when bags of what sounded like coin began flying through the air. Addy's curiosity piqued when Thorin reached into his cloak and produced a bag like the others. He then threw it in the direction of Gandalf.

"What are those?" Addy asked Thorin.

"We took wages on whether or not the burglar would actually accompany us." Thorin relayed.

"And you bet he wouldn't? Why do you dislike him so? He seems good of heart." She said in response, feeling sorry for Bilbo.

"Being on a journey such as this requires a great deal more than simply being 'good of heart'!" Thorin said laced with resentment.

That's it Addy decided. Thorin Oakenshield had a serious case of bi-polar disorder. One second he was caring and attentive, the next he was biting her head off for nothing. It was giving her mental whiplash. She decided to pretend to be asleep for the rest of the day. Maybe she would ride with another dwarf tomorrow. Constantly being berated by Thorin was far too tiring for someone on the mend anyways.

Addy must have actually fallen asleep because when she awoke she was engulfed in Thorins fur lined cloak. She was so cozy she did not wish to open her eyes. She knew someone was calling her name so she finally relented.

"Miss Underwood, are you awake?" Thorin asked.

Stifling a yawn Addy slowly rose from resting against the dwarf. She looked around and realized it had turned into night sometime along the way. Realizing they must be setting up camp Addy began dismounting. Thorin stopped her with a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Underwood you are in no shape to be dismounting. You might reopen one of your wounds. Let me dismount first and then I shall help you." He said calmly.

Sick of this overbearing treatment Addy decided she would dismount on her own anyways. Who was he to tell her when and how to do things? Ignoring his advice Addy proceeded to swing her leg over the pony and jumped down. What she hadn't been anticipating was at the very same moment Thorin began dismounting as well. Soon the pair was tumbling together towards the ground. Much to her and Thorins embarrassment he landed directly on top of her.

"Holy Shit!" Addy exclaimed while beginning to laugh. Thorin had done his best not to put all of his weight on top of her knowing he would most likely squash her to death if he had.

Thorin was about to scold her for having ignored his advice on how to dismount when he realized their faces were mere inches from each other. It was then that he finally realized how beautiful she truly was. Her golden hair spilled out all around her while the firelight danced in her eyes. He could see the pain she had suffered in them, but there was also a youthful presence that lingered there as well. They were golden from the firelight and he could not look away. After what seemed like forever of staring at one another Addy began speaking.

"Hmmmm?" Was his response. He hadn't heard what she had said.

"I asked if this was where we were to make camp tonight or do you have any foreseeable plans to get off of me?" She said with an amusing smile.

So she had noticed that he had been admiring her. Feeling embarrassed Throin began to stand. Once his feet were back firmly on the ground Thorin began helping Addy up. He hadn't noticed the laughter that had erupted upon their fall. He turned and gave the lot the harshest look he could muster. That shut them right up.

Thorin began commanding the group about. He ordered Gloin to start the fire and Bombur to begin making supper. Fili and Kili were chosen to keep watch during the night. Always having wanted to know how to make a fire without a match Addy approached Gloin and asked if he would show her how.

"I'd be delighted! It's simple really!" Exclaimed Gloin, excited to have an audience that evening. He started the fires every night and swore that the younger dwarves didn't even know how.

Addy watched with fascination, never having needed to light a fire without a match before. She made note of the technique knowing that if she was to stay in Middle Earth this skill would more than likely come in handy at some point in time.

After the fire had been made dinner was well underway. Addy had watched that process as well, knowing she had said she would help with the cooking while on the journey. Addy loved to cook; she had cooked for the blacksmith in return for room and board. Addy decided that she would make dinner the next evening if Bombur allowed.

As they all sat down for dinner around the fire the dwarves began singing again. It was another sorrowful tune about their lost city of Erebor. Addy felt out of place. These dwarves longed for their home so, she envied them. She had never truly had a place she could call home. After her parents had died Addy was moved from foster home to foster home never settling in one place for long. She didn't like to think about those years of her life where sorrow had been her constant and only companion. Once she had turned sixteen she was on her own wandering from town to town never truly settling anywhere. This had given her a leg up when it came to running from Lucas. It seemed Addy was to never truly have a place called home. This thought saddened her more than anything.

"Now don't look too sad lassie, we'll win back Erebor from Smaug!" Cried the one named Bofur. With that all the men began cheering in an odd language Addy didn't recognize.

"Do you sing at all Miss Underwood?" Bofur then asked.

"Sometimes but only when no one can hear me." She replied truthfully.

"Oh come now, half of us are tone-deaf but we sing anyways. Sing us a song!" Bofur said enthusiastically. With that all the other dwarves chimed in saying they would like to hear her sing as well.

Feeling awkward in the spotlight Addy relented hoping one quick song would do. She had loved music before Lucas came into her life; it had been the one steadfast thing in her life. However, after being with Lucas for so long her taste had changed. Eventually she only listened to songs full of sorrow. She finally decided on one that had been a favorite of hers while on the run. She began singing then.

_ I hear something hanging on the wind_

_I see black smoke up around the bend_

_I got my ticket_

_I'm going to go home_

_The leaves have changed a time or two_

_Since the last time the train came through_

_I got my ticket and I'm going to go home_

_My father's father's blood is on the track_

_A sweet refrain drifts in from the past_

_I got my ticket and I'm going to go home_

_The winding roads that led me here_

_Burn like coal and dry like tears_

_So here's my hope_

_My tired soul_

_So here's my ticket_

_I want to go home_

_Home_

_Home_

Addy hadn't been expecting the emotions that bubbled up whilst singing for the dwarf company. A tear slowly slid down her face while thinking about the parents she had lost at such a young age. How different her life would be had they lived. It must have affected the dwarves as well because no one spoke for quite some time after she had finished. Feeling eyes on her Addy looked up to see Thorin staring at her with anguish on his face, which then suddenly turned to anger. Thorin rose abruptly and left the group. Not knowing what she had done to anger him so Addy turned her attention to the rest of the group. It was Bofur that eventually broke the silence.

"That was beautiful; you have a lovely singing voice my dear." He said genuinely while patting her on the leg in a fatherly fashion.

Then the group exploded with praise for Addy's song. They begged her to sing more and she obliged, she had enjoyed singing. After having sung many more songs the group decided it was time for some rest. Upon rising Addy suddenly remembered how Thorin had withdrawn before. Consumed by her thoughts she was unable to sleep. It seemed sleep was just out of reach for Balin as well. He sat by the fire flanked by Fili and Kili. Addy rose from her bedroll to join them.

"Why hello Miss Underwood! Couldn't sleep either?" Balin inquired warmly.

"No, I've slept all day and now it seems to be eluding me." Addy replied.

"Well you are more than welcome to keep us company!" Fili and Kili said simultaneously.

"Thank you." She said while smiling at the welcoming brothers.

Turning her attention to Balin Addy decided to ask him a question that had been nagging her ever since dinner.

"Balin, why did Thorin leave in such an angered state after I sang earlier?" She queried.

"Oh lass it wasn't anything to do with you. I believe it had to do with the song you sang. You see after Smaug the Terrible took the Lonely Mountain us dwarves were forced to wander the land, never truly settling down anywhere. We were dispirited and poor. Thorin took it the hardest, feeling his grandfather's greed to be the reason as to why we had been exiled. He led our exodus, never truly showing how despondent he was over the whole matter. Eventually King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria... but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed; we did not know. We were leaderless, defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him; the young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield... Thorin then cut off the great Orc's arm. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back; our enemy had been defeated... but there was no feast or songs that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King'. Balin explained.

"No one ever told me he was a King!" Addy exclaimed. How could that have stayed a secret to her this whole time? She suddenly understood his peculiar behavior. An exiled King trying to reclaim his homeland had no time for the follies of some strange girl.

It was then that Thorin reappeared to find all of his companion's eyes upon him. He quickly found Addy's among them. He was confused to see shock upon her face. What had they been telling her now?

Then Bilbo, who had been petting his pony, asked "And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?"

Realizing what they had been speaking of Throin answered venomously "He crawled back to the hole in which he came from and died of his wounds long ago." He looked back to where Addy had been sitting a minute ago to find her gone.

Addy suddenly felt a great deal of pity for the dwarf king. Why had she acted like such a child this entire time? He saved her life more than once and she had been so rude to him. She vowed then and there that she would no longer be a nuisance to Thorin, King under the Mountain.


	5. Chapter 5

Addy didn't sleep at all that night. Instead she took watch with Fili and Kili while thoughts raced through her mind; they seemed to appreciate her company all the same. By the time they were to depart Addy was exhausted. However, she knew that if she were to sleep the day away again she would be in the very same predicament as the night before. Thorin approached her then.

"How are you feeling this morning Miss Underwood?" He asked.

Not wanting to bother him Addy simply replied "Fine," which was a lie .

"Shall you be accompanying me on my pony again today?" Thorin asked of her.

"Well Fili and Kili asked if I would ride with them today and I agreed." She lied again. She figured they wouldn't mind anyways.

"Oh I see." Said Thorin curtly as he strode off. Could she ever do anything right? Addy questioned herself as she began packing up for the long day ahead. She then figured she should probably ask the brothers if it was actually okay for her to ride with them so she wouldn't have to walk.

"Hi Fili, Hi Kili." She said cordially. "Would you mind if I rode with you two today?"

"Of course not!" Ensured Kili.

"You can ride with me first, then after lunch you can ride with Kili." Fili told her.

"Or you could ride with ME first and then with Fili after lunch." Kili interjected.

"You wouldn't want to do that Miss Underwood, for I am the better rider." Fili boasted, clearly puffing out his chest.

"Oh no you're not!" Yelled Kili as he tackled his brother to the ground. The pair wrestled for a bit until Fili finally won.

"And that little brother is how it is done." Fili said ending the argument. It would seem she was to ride with Fili then.

After a day full of bickering and uncomfortable riding Addy quickly realized her mistake in having rejected Thorin's offer. By the time they made camp Addy could barely keep her eyes open. Even so, Addy still offered to help Bombur in preparing dinner. Feeling the stew was missing a certain something Addy went in search of some herbs. While on her way she ran into an annoyed Gandalf and an even more irritated Thorin. Not wanting to inconvenience them Addy simply smiled their way and kept on walking.

Thankfully Addy was able to find some sage and rosemary without having to look too far. Feeling triumphant she began the trek back to camp. By the time she had arrived the sun had set and there wasn't a Dwarf or Hobbit to be found. Addy decided to venture back into the woods in hopes of finding them. That's when she heard their voices. They were yelling in protest of something. Following the noises Addy quickly came upon a most peculiar scene. Three giants stood around a camp fire while what seemed to be half of her companions roasted on a pit. The rest of the company was awaiting their turn on the ground wrapped in burlap sacks. Bilbo was the only one standing.

"You skin them first!" Bilbo exclaimed cheerfully.

What on earth was going on here? Obviously these giants were trying to eat her friends but why was Bilbo helping them? Without a minute to spare Addy sprinted back to the camp, ignoring the searing pain shooting through her ankle, hoping to have concocted some sort of a plan by the time she got there. Once there Addy grabbed Gloin's tinderbox and her leather bedroll. It was a shot in the dark but maybe it would buy them some time until Gandalf returned.

Once back at her original spot Addy began building a fire frantically. Once she had it started she stood in front of the flames on her tiptoes trying to appear as large as possible. It seemed to work since a giant shadow appeared behind the fire. Leaving that trick for later Addy then hurriedly began rolling the bedroll into a cone shape. Using the most menacing voice she could muster she began speaking into the cone.

"Do you dare to take these souls from me?" She said in hopes of confusing the giants.

"What was that?!" One of them cried.

"I don't know you dimwit!" Another said cruelly to his companion.

"Well obviously whatever it is thinks it has some sort of claim on these here Dwarves." Said the third giant.

"I am the protector of the forest and these men have tarnished my woods by cutting down a tree to start a fire!" She boomed. "I am here to collect their souls in recompense!"

"I ain't ever heard of no protector of the forest." Said one of them.

"Me neither." Agreed another.

Feeling like she was quickly losing their attention she decided to take another course.

"How dare you question my existence!" She screamed as loudly as possible while stepping in front of the fire as she had before; a huge shadow appeared out of nowhere in the camp. This startled the giants so much so that they all fell to the ground trying to crawl away from the menacing shadow. She went on in hopes of scaring them a little more.

"I see you have started a fire as well! Maybe I shall claim your souls along with the Dwarves!"

"Oh no! We didn't mean nothing by it! We was just hungry that's all!" Cried one of them.

"Please don't take our souls! We didn't cut down any trees we swear!" Cried another.

"We promise we won't ever make another fire here again!" Said the last of the trio.

"As long as you leave these here Dwarves to me you are free to go. Remove them from the spit and be on your way!" She roared. She wasn't going to have a voice tomorrow that was for sure. One of the giants quickly removed the Dwarves from the fire spit. Once the task had been completed the trio ran away as fast as their massive bodies would allow.

After having waited a few minutes to make sure the giants wouldn't return, Addy made her way over to the Dwarves, who were already cutting themselves loose. Having not realized it had been Addy the whole time they had recovered their weapons and prepared to fight whatever the 'protector of the forest' actually was. When Addy finally emerged she had to duck to avoid an arrow coming her way thanks to Kili.

"Woah! It's just me!" She cried in surprise.

"Where is this so called 'protector of the forest'?" Dwalin asked with skepticism in his eyes.

"Oh, that was me." She said sheepishly in response.

"What in the name of Durin do you mean by this?" Thorin growled.

"You are the 'protector of the forest'?" Balin asked uncertainly.

Addy laughed at that. "Of course not!" She shouted. "After having returned from looking for spices to find you all gone I went in search of you, once I found you all and realized what was going on I ran back to camp to grab the tinderbox and a bed roll. I wrapped the bed roll into a cone to make my voice louder and built a fire to make myself appear much larger than I actually am." She explained as if it were all common sense.

"You did all of this to save us?" Thorin asked incredulously.

"Of course I did! I don't even know what I would have done had you all actually been eaten." She said truthfully. With that all the dwarves burst out laughing. Apparently what she had said had been quite amusing. After having composed themselves they all began clapping her on the back and thanking her.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled there dearie." Said Dwalin.

"Quite a stunt indeed." Said Balin smiling at her.

"We are most in your debt, Lady Underwood." Said Thorin with amusement in his eyes. "On behalf of The Company of Thorin Oakenshield we thank you." He boomed while bowing. Suddenly all the other Dwarves followed suite and Addy began blushing with embarrassment.

"Oh it was nothing." She reassured.

"I'm going to write you a song!" Claimed Bofur. "It will be about a brave lassie that saved the King under the Mountain merely with fire and a bed roll." He exclaimed.

"Why thank you Bofur." Addy said while smiling at the kind dwarf.

With that Gandalf came into the clearing, the wizard looked around excitedly at the group.

"I have just come across a band of trolls! They just happen to turn to stone right as I came upon them!" Said Gandalf. None had noticed that the sun had actually risen. So they were trolls, that made much more sense come to think of it. They smelled atrocious, even from where Addy had been standing.

"Yes we know, we almost became their dinner, but thanks to Miss Underwood's quick wit we have survived unscathed." Replied Throin.

"You will have to tell me about it later. We need to find their hoard. Trolls are well-known for stockpiling lost treasures." Gandalf told them.

The group banded together in search of the troll hoard. Addy had no idea what to be looking for so she didn't really stress over helping too much. Thorin and Gandalf led the hunt. It was the smell that hit them first. Addy had to hold her nose to prevent from barfing all over everyone. It smelled like a million diapers had been left out in the sun during the hottest month of summer then were all thrown into the same dumpster. It was horrendous. After having followed the smell for quite some time the band eventually happened upon their cave.

"This must be it!" Said Gandalf enthusiastically.

"I think my nose is broken." Addy said.

"Ah yes, Trolls are terribly filthy creatures. I believe it to be some sort of defense mechanism." Said Gandalf while venturing inside.

"Fili! Kili! Keep watch over Miss Underwood as we take a look inside." Thorin yelled behind him. The pair nodded in reassurance and then flanked Addy.

Feeling far too overprotected Addy began walking towards the mouth of the cave. Why should she miss out on all of the treasures? As she entered she quickly began to regret her decision. The smell hit her like a punch to the gut, her eyes began to sting and she almost turned around and walked out. It was while she had been doubled over attempting to catch her breath that she caught sight of it. On the ground just below her foot was a beautiful ring. Something about it called out to her. Addy quickly bent down to retrieve it. Upon seeing this Kili thought Addy to be in distress, being the younger and more impulsive of the two, he overreacted and threw her over his shoulder to carry her outside.

"What the HELL?!" Was her reaction. "Let go of me! You're squashing my ribs!" Addy cried in pain. Kili gingerly set her down on the ground after hearing her protests.

"You looked to be in distress so I thought I ought to bring you outside for some fresh air." Kili said shamefacedly.

"I appreciate the concern but due to my broken ribs my body does not seem to agree." Addy said while trying to catch her breath. Thorin then came running out of the cave having heard the commotion.

"What have you done?" He yelled at Kili upon seeing Addy on the ground, holding her ribs in pain. Kili began bumbling trying to find the words to explain when Addy interjected.

"Don't be angry with him, he only meant to help. He must not have known about my broken ribs." She said while attempting to get up. Kili attempted to help her but decided otherwise after Thorin shot him a disapproving look. Thorin swiftly came to her aid and helped her rise.

"I found these swords for you in the cave." He said while handing a pair of twin blades to her. "They are lightweight and just the right length for you it seems." He said reassuringly. Shocked by the sudden act of kindness Addy felt dumbfounded and didn't know what to say in return.

"Thank you." Was all she managed to choke out. With that Thorin nodded curtly and went back into the cave to find Gandalf.

It was then that they all heard a great deal of rustling coming from somewhere in the woods. Not knowing which direction it was coming from Addy jumped up and began searching for the source. Thorin came running out of the cave ordering the band to close ranks. Addy was hastily pushed to the middle. For the love of God when were they going to stop treating her like a child? Addy thought while unsheathing her swords. After a few moments of confusion a man on a sled being pulled by rabbits appeared out of nowhere. The group stayed huddled until Gandalf began laughing.

"Radagast the Brown!" I have not seen you for quite some time my old friend!" Gandalf said cheerfully.

"Gandalf! I was hoping to find you! I have some important information for you." Radagast said in haste.

After a moment of silence passed Gandalf inquired. "And what might that information be?"

"Oh I just had it on the tip of my tongue!" Said Radagast in a state of confusion. "Oh never mind, it is merely a silly old stick insect." Said the brown wizard as he pulled the aforementioned bug from his mouth.

After having witnessed that odd moment Addy realized that she was excruciatingly thirsty and went in search of some water. She had only been gone for a few minutes when she heard a deep growl come from behind. Upon turning around Addy saw one of the great big wolves her and Thorin had fought when they had first met. In a state of shock Addy swiftly unsheathed her swords and took a defensive stance. The wolf began inching closer. Addy knew she didn't have a chance, the wolf was standing on a great boulder, all it needed to do is lunge towards her and she would be finished. As if having read her mind the wolf suddenly lunged at her. Addy stabbed at the wolf hoping to inflict some sort of damage on the creature. The wolf landed on her sword but still managed to clamp down its teeth on her arm, which she had put up defensively. Addy screamed out in agony as the wolf shook her around like a rag doll. At that moment the Dwarves appeared and began killing the giant beast that was still on top of her. Oin then knelt down next to her to slowly remove the dead beast's teeth from her arm.

"I'm afraid the arms broken and she's losing a great deal of blood." Said Oin to Thorin.

"How in Durin's name did Warg scouts find us?" Thorin boomed.

"Who did you tell about your quest?" Gandalf demanded of the dwarf king.

"No one I swear!" Thorin roared back.

"Where are the ponies? We must be on our way if we are to find Miss Underwood help in time." Gandalf said firmly.

"We have no ponies!" Cried Ori having just returned from their camp.

"I'll draw them off." Said Radagast to Gandalf.

"These are Gundobad Wargs - they will run you down!" Replied Gandalf brusquely.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits! I'd like to see them try!" Said the brown wizard with an air of confidence.

With that Gandalf swooped up Addy as they all began to run. Addy tried her best to keep from screaming with every movement Gandalf made. Oin had made a tourniquet in hopes of slowing down the bleeding, however she could still feel the blood gushing from her wound, leaving her cold and disoriented. The band ran from boulder to boulder just long enough to keep cover from the Orc pack that was now chasing after Radagast. Not knowing where they were going Thorin kept the pace brisk hoping to find some way to safety; he had seen the damage done to Addy's arm, she needed medical attention now if she was to live. Angered at himself for letting her go off without protection Thorin felt responsible for her wounds. She was not going to die today! He vowed to himself. While waiting to run to the next boulder Thorin turned to see an Orc atop a Warg inching towards them. Thorin gave Kili a signal to shoot them with his bow. He managed to shoot the warg in the leg; they slowly tumbled off the boulder to the ground where the rest of the dwarves quickly encircled the pair and killed them. The Orc let out a loud cry right before Thorin embedded his blade deep in its head. This alerted the rest of the pack who quickly forgot about Radagast and began chasing after the Dwarves instead. Looking around Dwalin realized that Gandalf and Addy had disappeared.

"We're surrounded!" Cried Ori.

"Stand your ground!" Thorin commanded.

"Where has Gandalf gone?" Dori asked Thorin.

"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin replied angrily. It was then that the grey wizard appeared from behind a rock.

"This way you fools!" He cried.

The Dwarves ran to the wizard not knowing where he was leading them. There was a small opening in the ground where Gandalf proceeded to slide down with Addy engulfed in his arms. Thorin stood at the opening waiting for all of his men to make it to safety. It was Kili that stood alone shooting his bow and arrow at the pack. Thorin yelled at his nephew to come along. After shooting one last arrow Kili slid down into the cave shortly followed by Thorin. It was then that they heard the battle horn of the Elves. Not wishing to waste any more time Dwalin went in search of a way out.

"Are we to follow this pathway?" He asked of the wizard.

"Yes." Was his reply as he handed Addy off to Thorin. Gandalf went to the front of the procession to lead them into the unknown.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry if it took me a while to write this chapter. I was suffering from a bout of writers block. I hope you are all enjoying the story! Questions and comments are always welcome btw. Also the dress I describe in this chapter is from Elie Saab's Fall 2012 line, all of them are amazing, hopefully you'll be able to pick out which one I used. If I could I would wear this dress everyday of my life I would :D ENJOY**

The group slowly wound its way through the underground tunnels not knowing what their actual destination was. Thorin became very irritated with the grey wizard since he would not disclose where they were heading. The tourniquet seemed to be helping since Addy's arm had begun to clot and she was conscious, but she was still in desperate need of medical attention.

"Where are we going?" She asked drowsily.

"I haven't the faintest idea." Thorin replied honestly.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a king?" Addy then asked. She didn't know why that particular question had popped out of her mouth but was interested in the answer all the same. Having been caught off guard Thorin answered honestly.

"I try not to tell many people. Aside from protective purposes I don't like others feeling pity for the exiled King under the Mountain. Our kind is resilient and I know this is just a bout of bad luck. We will be ruling again from Erebor soon enough." Thorin said with a stern nod.

"I know how you feel." Addy said whilst sighing. Maybe the two weren't that different from each other after all, aside from the royalty aspect of course. Thorin then gave her a quizzical look.

"I meant about the not telling many people thing, not the exiled king thing." Addy said clarifying.

"And what about your life? Don't you miss your family and friends?" Thorin queried.

"Oh well that's a pretty short story I'm afraid, my parents died when I was five. Being an orphan with no other immediate family I was moved from foster home to foster home. Because of this I never really managed to make too many friends since I was constantly being shuffled around." Addy said detachedly.

"What is a foster home?" Thorin questioned having never heard the term before.

"It's where orphans are placed when they have no other home to go to. Sometimes people land in really good homes, other times not. I never really struck it rich in that department so once I was 16 I left the system and have been on my own ever since." Addy said, surprised by her truthfulness. She very rarely told anyone about her past. With that the conversation ended. Thorin couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to lose her only family at such a young age. Thorin had lost his family as well, but at least he had been of age to be on his own when he lost them. Thorin had been deep in thought and hadn't noticed the opening in the cave ahead. As he stumbled out into the daylight realization of where they were slowly dawned on him.

"Rivendell" uttered Bilbo upon seeing the utopian city hidden in the foothills of the Misty Mountains.

"Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea." Said Gandalf in response. Thorin felt a sudden rage rip though his body.

"How dare you bring us here! To the doorstep of our enemy!" Thorin bellowed at Gandalf. Addy could feel his body shaking in anger.

"You have no enemies here Thorin Oakenshield. I have brought us here because we no longer have any supplies and Miss Underwood is in desperate need of a healer. Rivendell is the safest place we could wish to stay." Gandalf reassured the proud dwarf king.

"How can we trust them? They turned their backs on us when Erebor was taken by Smaug! Pray tell me wizard what makes you think they will aid us now?" Thorin said laced with resentment.

"We have a map we cannot read and Lord Elrond is one of the only beings in this world who can still interpret ancient Dwarvish. If you wish to continue on this journey we will need his help, no matter your feelings towards him." Gandalf snapped.

"And you think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us!" Thundered Thorin in return.

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. Now if we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm, which is why you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf said to the dwarf company ending the argument there. Hearing nothing more on the matter Gandalf decided it was time to be on their way.

"Where are we?" Addy asked Thorin after he seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"We are in the realm of the Elves." Thorin said gruffly.

"And this is a problem because?" Addy asked.

"Dwarves and Elves have a tendency to not get along." Thorin said sharply. Not wanting to anger Thorin any more than he already appeared to be Addy quickly dropped the subject. Wherever they were it was unimaginably beautiful. The hidden city was encompassed by a mass of waterfalls all leading to a great river below. High up on a peak a cluster of buildings sat; each more exquisite than the last. It truly was paradise Addy thought. Gandalf led the troop down a mass of stairs and across a bridge to be greeted by a very tall and elegant male elf.

"Mithrandir." The elf said welcomingly.

"Lindir, it is a pleasure to see you again." Gandalf responded genially. "We are here to speak with Lord Elrond."

"I am afraid Lord Elrond is away. Would you care to wait for him?" Lindir inquired. Just then a horn blew in the distance. Addy recognized it from when they had escaped into the caves. The cluster turned to see an assembly of armor clad men atop great big horses barreling towards them.

"Close ranks!" Thorin commanded taking their sudden appearance as a threat. Addy jumped from Thorin's arms as to allow him to unsheathe his sword while Addy did the same with her good arm. The group stood huddled in a defensive position until Lord Elrond dismounted.

"Mithrandir!" He exclaimed while walking towards Gandalf.

"Lord Elrond!" Said Gandalf with just as much enthusiasm. "Where were you just now?" Asked Gandalf of the Elvin King.

"We were out scouting when we came upon a pack of Orcs right near the hidden pass. It is odd for them to be so close to our borders. They must have been tracking something or someone." Lord Elrond said with a knowing smile.

"I suppose that was us." Gandalf retorted. "We are here because we seek your council."

Upon further investigation of the group Lord Elrond realized that Thorin was amongst them.

"Welcome, Thorin son of Thrain. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Said Lord Elrond to the dwarf king.

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin said skeptically.

"You have your grandfathers bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled Erebor." Lord Elrond revealed. Turning his attention to the girl standing beside Throin. Lord Elrond asked "And who might this be?"

Gandalf stepped in to answer "Allow me to introduce you to the newest member of our company, Adelaide Underwood." Said Gandalf as Addy sheathed her sword.

"It is a pleasure Lord Elrond." Addy said genuinely while bowing slightly.

"The pleasure is all mine Miss Underwood." Elrond countered. "I see that you are very injured; might you allow me to show you to the infirmary?" Addy stood confused looking for reassurance from Gandalf. Upon seeing him nod in reply Addy took the Elvin Lord's outstretched arm. Gandalf ignored Thorin who was staring daggers at him. Before leading Addy away Lord Elrond began rattling off some foreign language she assumed was Elvish.

"Does he mean to offer us insult?" Roared Gloin.

"No he means to offer you food." Gandalf said smiling at the over reactive dwarf.

"Well in that case lead on." Gloin said with a curt nod.

"Lord Elrond, I have some imperative matters to discuss with you upon your return." Gandalf interjected before he could disappear.

Lord Elrond nodded in reply and began leading the pixie like girl off to be healed. He led Addy up a winding staircase to what she assumed must be the infirmary, or whatever they called it here. She could barely keep her eyes forward since she was too preoccupied with taking in every detail of the beautiful palace. Lord Elrond must have seen the astonishment written all over her face.

"You are not from this world are you Miss Underwood?" Asked the Lord.

"How could you tell?" Addy said with a sly grin.

"I have lived a very long time Miss Underwood, over the years I have become accustomed to all that dwell upon this land, and you are not among them." Surmised Elrond.

"You're right; I'm not from Middle Earth. I also have no idea as to how I came to be here, or why for that matter. I only joined in on their quest because Gandalf thought we might be able to find some answers along the way. Now I'm beginning to seriously question my decision-making skills." The words tumbled out of Addy's mouth before she could keep them in check.

"It is a very curious situation indeed. I agree with Gandalf in that you were brought here for some reason unknown to us as of yet. But do not despair Miss Underwood, we will find the answer. It is out there; it merely needs to be found." Elrond shot her a reassuring smile. With that the pair came to a stop in front of a grand entrance. Elrond opened the large wooden doors to the infirmary. The scent hit Addy first; it smelled strongly of spices and herbs. Elrond led Addy to a private room equipped with the world's largest bed. After having seen the bed Addy could think of nothing else but sleep. As if having read her mind Lord Elrond began speaking again.

"Now Miss Underwood I believe you are in great need of some rest. Nilda will be tending to your wounds. Do not hesitate to ask her for anything, she is more than happy to oblige. I will call upon you once you have regained your strength."

As Addy turned to thank the kind Lord she was shocked to see that he had somehow disappeared. Quite ones elves are, she thought. Not knowing what to do Addy sat down on the magnificent bed. Feeling the fear and anxiety of the past week melt off of her she finally began to relax. How naïve she had been in thinking that once Lucas was out of her life everything would become normal. Lucas was finally out of her life and now she was on a quest with thirteen Dwarves, a Wizard, and a Hobbit in hopes of stealing back a hidden castle from a dragon. Chuckling to herself at the irony of the whole situation Addy hadn't noticed an elven woman approach.

"Are you alright miss?" Asked the graceful woman of Addy.

"I am fine. I just need some rest that's all. And you are?"

"I am Nilda, one of the healers. Lord Elrond sent for me. He said you were very injured but I was not expecting this." Nilda said while pointing towards Addy's arm. Having ignored the vile wound since its unexpected appearance Addy hadn't noticed that her arm was a mangled mess; Addy wasn't even sure you could call it an arm anymore. Would they have to amputate it? With that last thought Addy fainted.

Nilda gingerly began cleaning the wound to the best of her abilities. This poor girl's beaten and battered body would take some time to heal that was for sure. Nilda decided to start with Addy's head and move down from there. It took a great deal of time and energy on Nilda's part but soon the girl was healthy again. Nilda had managed to save the arm; now the only proof of the attack being the impressive scar that ran the length of her forearm. Nilda decided tomorrow would be a better day to attempt healing all the scarring. She wouldn't be able to eradicate them completely but she could make them as faint as possible. Nilda left the room to find some food and clothing for the young woman.

Addy was terrified. She was suddenly back in the woods where she had last seen Lucas. Why was she here? Addy began worrying that she had passed out from the gunshot wound and had never ventured to Middle Earth after-all. Could she have really made all of that up? There is no way her imagination created Thorin Oakenshield. And it all had felt so real! Addy decided to run in case Lucas was searching for her to finish the job. After having run for a while Addy stopped to catch her breath. It was then that she realized her clothing had changed. She was no longer wearing the dress she had on when Lucas had accosted her. She was wearing what seemed to be some sort of leather armor. Looking down to inspect her clothing further Addy realized that she was now standing in the midst of a great fire. Before letting a scream escape her lips Addy noticed something on the ground to her left. On top of a giant boulder lay Thorin. She could not discern whether or not he was alive so she crept closer to get a better look. He was breathing, although faintly. It was then that she noticed a presence towering behind her. Turning to see who it was Addy could not stifle the scream ripping through her body this time. Her eyes came upon the scariest being she had ever seen. He was huge, sitting atop of an enormous white Warg. His pale blue eyes shone with satisfaction as he crept closer to the pair. The Pale Orc was only a few feet away from them with his mace drawn. Just as he was about to bring it down upon them a broad smile spread across his face. It was the most disturbing smile Addy had ever seen. It was pure evil. Addy awoke suddenly from her own screaming. Nilda was there gently stroking her back in hopes of consoling her.

"What is troubling you miss?" Asked Nilda.

"I had this terrible dream that I was back in the woods running from Lucas right before I appeared in Middle Earth, then all of a sudden I was in the midst of a great big fire and there was this huge pale monster. He was inching towards me and Thorin about to kill us. Then I woke up." Addy said still shaking the last bits of sleep from her mind. She couldn't get the image of the Pale Orc smiling sadistically at her out of her head.

"Do not worry miss it was just a dream." Nilda said reassuringly. Although something the girl had said troubled her. The Pale Orc known as Azog had not been seen for nearly twenty years, why would she be dreaming of him now?

"Yes but it felt so real. I could feel the heat from the fire and the malice in the Pale Orc's eyes." Addy said a bit hysterically.

"Well I am sure it was all just a nightmare, no need to dwell on something so unpleasant. I have brought you some breakfast, once you are finished with that I will fetch the dress I had made up for you. You are so slim and petite I did not think even our children's clothing would have fit you." Nadia said with a hint of humor in her eyes.

"Thank you so much for your kindness. I cannot believe you were able to heal my arm. Where I come from they would have just cut it off." Addy said in amazement while moving it about.

"Well it did take quite a deal of effort but I am glad you are feeling better. You have many scars scattering your body. I did my best to make them look less offending but wasn't able to make them disappear completely." Nilda said while pointing towards her.

As realization of what Nilda had just told her dawned Addy jumped from the bed to get a better look. All the scars that Lucas had inflicted upon her body were barely visible now. Only the deep scar over her heart, arm, and forearm were still noticeable. Addy quickly became mesmerized by the pale white skin in the form of the Warg's teeth that encircled her forearm. It was kind of beautiful in a way, she thought to herself. It was then that Addy finally realized how great she felt. It had seemed like months since she had last been uninjured. Addy quickly turned around to encircle Nilda in a deep hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Was all Addy could think to say in return.

"You are welcome my dear, now how about we get you something to eat? You have been asleep for two days so I am sure you are famished. And once you are finished with that we shall have you bathed and dressed." Nilda explained.

"Two days! Why didn't anybody wake me? Have they left without me?" Addy began questioning the healer worried that she had been left behind.

"Of course not! They have been a bother honestly. No matter what time of day or night one of them is always milling about outside awaiting news on your recovery." Nilda said about the dwarf company.

"Oh! That's surprising. I figured they would have left me behind; I feel like I'm slowing them down." Addy said honestly having never voiced this particular opinion before.

"They all speak very highly of you, especially Thorin. I have had to listen to the story about you outwitting those trolls nearly a hundred times it seems." Nilda explained while bringing Addy a tray of food.

"HA! You have to be kidding me? Thorin Oakenshield only thinks of me as a nuisance. He barely let me come along actually." Addy said while remembering the argument Gandalf and Thorin had back in Hobbiton.

"Well he must have changed his mind on the matter since he has been the biggest bother of them all. He has been up here ten times at least making sure we are doing everything we can to make you comfortable. To think of a dwarf questioning our infirmary!" Nilda said a bit miffed.

Thinking about what the lady elf had just told her Addy began to eat. Having not eaten in days Addy was ravenous.

"Well now I shall leave you to that while I will go and fetch your new dress. I designed it myself actually, I hope you find it to your liking." Nilda said with an excited smile.

Addy was then left to her thoughts. Why was Thorin worried over her so? He had made it perfectly clear that he hadn't wanted her along on the journey. Why the sudden change in heart? Maybe it was simply because she was a girl; the men seemed to be a lot more chivalrous here in Middle Earth. Why did this bother her so anyways? Was it because she had feelings for Thorin herself? He was handsome she gave him that, but he was also arrogant and stubborn. Fed up with the thoughts that were swirling around in her head Addy began bathing. By the time Nilda had arrived with her new dress Addy felt revived.

"Now the design of this was based off of your eyes. There is so much color in them I wanted to find a way to bring them to life all at once." Nilda said as she uncovered the dress. "It will look much better on, allow me to assist you." Nilda swiftly helped Addy into the gown. After fastening a golden belt around the waist Addy was ushered towards a mirror; shock and awe crossed her face simultaneously as she studied her reflection. It was elaborately made with a very delicate golden material intermittent with emerald ivy that wound its way up the length of the dress. The arms were simply made of a translucent golden lace which shimmered in the sunlight, and was completed with a solid gold belt. It certainly did make her eyes pop.

"Oh Nilda, it's magnificent!" Addy cried out.

"I am pleased that you like it so Miss Underwood. Come now we must do something with that hair of yours!" Nilda chided like a mother.

Once Addy's hair was presentable enough Nilda led her back down the winding staircase to a grand dining room. Upon entering Addy saw a large table full of Dwarves eating what seemed to be lunch. As Addy approached the table went silent. Feeling excruciatingly self-conscious all of a sudden Addy turned beet red. Why were they ignoring her? Had she done something wrong? Noticing her discomfort Balin finally spoke.

"Miss Underwood! Aren't you looking beautiful on this lovely afternoon! Come join us! We did not recognize you there for a moment!" Exclaimed the kind dwarf. Relief flooded through her as she realized that they had simply not recognized her without her bruised face.

"Yes Miss Underwood you must be starving! Come sit with us!" Cried Kili making room for her between him and Fili. The pair exchanged a peculiar look just then. Making her way over to the brothers Addy suddenly caught sight of Thorin. He was sitting at a large table with Gandalf and Lord Elrond. Not wanting to disturb their conversation Addy simply smiled at the trio and sat down to eat. It was then that Addy caught Thorin staring at her, his expression being that of incredulity. Addy smiled at him in hopes of reassuring him that she was feeling better. He seemed to be embarrassed having been caught and quickly rejoined the conversation, intermittently glancing her way. Addy ignored the odd behavior of the dwarven king and piled as much food as was possible onto her plate. As she was about to take her first bite Gandalf approached the table.

"Miss Underwood we require your presence." The kind wizard relayed. Taking one last longing look at her food Addy agreed and stood to follow Gandalf. He then led her to the table where Lord Elrond and Thorin sat. They both rose to greet Addy as she began to take her seat.

"Miss Underwood I am glad to see you looking well." Lord Elrond said genuinely.

"Thank you Lord Elrond. Nilda deserves all the credit; she truly is a miracle worker." Addy said in response.

"I'm glad to see you back on your feet." Thorin then added briskly barely looking her way.

"Thank you." Addy replied feeling confused. Why was Thorin acting so weird towards her? Hadn't Nilda said that Thorin was constantly asking after her? Now he barely even glanced her way. Well two could play that game she decided.

"Miss Underwood, now that you have had time to heal we wish to discuss why it is that you are here. We have called upon the council of Saruman the White. He is the greatest of our order and we think he might have some insight as to why you have been brought to us. He might also know of a way to send you back." Gandalf said to Addy reassuringly.

"That sounds good I suppose." Addy said not knowing what else to say. Of course she wanted to know why she had been brought to Middle Earth but did she really want to go back? What if Lucas had lived? Then she would be forced to live a life on the road all over again. Maybe she could go back to Hobbiton with Bilbo. It was much more beautiful there than anywhere else she had ever lived.

"Saruman will be arriving later this evening, which gives you ample time to eat and rest." Lord Elrond said.

"Thank you but I have had enough rest to last me for quite a while. I would much rather see more of the palace. It truly is glorious." Addy said openly.

"Very well, have something to eat then I will show you the palace myself." Replied Lord Elrond.

With that Thorin stood abruptly and excused himself claiming he was off to train with the rest of the Dwarves. Confused by his aloofness Addy muttered a quick goodbye. She could feel his eyes on her as he left but didn't dare look up at him. Apparently this was how their relationship was to be. One second they would be sharing secrets of their past only to act like totally strangers the next. It was exhausting and Addy had had enough. If he was going to act like a child then she would no longer care for the exiled King under the Mountain.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm terribly sorry about the long wait for this last chapter, my computer decided to die last week so I was in a bit of a nasty predicament. This chapter is super short but I promise to load the next chapter very soon. Also, I know that some of you think Thorin is an ass, which he is, but don't worry because that will be changing very soon! I hope you all enjoy and as usual reviews/ comments/ suggestions are always welcome! **

Lord Elrond led Addy and Bilbo through the winding palace stopping occasionally to explain each room's importance. The Elvin Lord was so tall Addy and Bilbo had to jog just to keep pace with him. After what seemed like ages the trio finally ended their tour in a lush courtyard, which it seemed the dwarves had claimed as their temporary training area.

"Now if you two will excuse me I have some matters to attend to before the council this evening." Said Lord Elrond. Addy and Bilbo turned to thank the Lord for taking the time to show them around only to realize he had already left.

"How do they do that?" Addy mused aloud.

"Elves are very light of foot." Bilbo offered in response.

"More so than Hobbits?" Addy asked glancing Bilbo's way.

"Well of course! It is said that they can even walk across snow without leaving a single track. I would not know since I have never seen it myself, but I do have it on very good authority that it is true." Bilbo said confidently.

"Is that so? How interesting." Addy said in response to the Hobbits excitement. She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"I am happy to see that you are feeling better Miss Underwood. I honestly did not know if you were going to make it back there; you were in very poor shape that is." Bilbo rambled. It felt odd for Bilbo to have admitted that aloud, the whole company had been a nervous wreck while Addy was being healed, and yet none of them ever found the courage to voice their concerns. The Elves sure did take their time in letting them know how she was getting along. Bilbo had actually thought she might have died and they were just putting off telling them.

"Don't worry Bilbo! It will take a lot more than that to kill me off." Addy said with a teasing smile. "But thank you for your concern, it means more than you know."

She suddenly realized that she had been holding back tears. It felt odd having so many worry after her; she had grown so accustomed to ignoring any who showed concern for her while dating Lucas that all the attention seemed misplaced somehow. Addy quickly swiped away a tear that had managed to escape and turned her attention to Thorin and Dwalin who were in the middle of the quad fighting each other. It looked as if the pair had been at it for quite some time since both were drenched with sweat and breathing heavily, even so neither seemed to be letting up. Addy watched for a bit but soon grew tired of the never-ending bout. Looking around for something to do Addy took notice of Fili and Kili who were off on the other side of the courtyard practicing with their bows and arrows. She had always wanted to know how to shoot a bow so she made her way across the courtyard.

"Hey you guys! I was wondering if you would mind showing me how to shoot?" Addy asked smiling broadly at the brothers.

"Of course we wouldn't Miss Underwood!" Said Kili in response.

"Not one bit!" Added Fili.

"I will teach you myself since I am the better marksman." Kili bragged while slyly winking at Addy.

"Yes! What a grand idea! Let Kili teach you incorrectly first and then once he is finished with that I will show you how to really shoot Miss Underwood." Fili said with a mocking smile.

"I am better with a bow and you know it! Ask any in the company they will tell you!" Cried Kili out of frustration. Fili knew full well that his brother was the better marksman he just wanted to get a rise out of the young lad.

"Calm down little brother I was only joking! Anyways I told Ori that I would help him practice with his hammer. Now don't get into too much trouble you two." Fili ribbed before he went off in search of the young Ori. Addy was perplexed by their odd behavior but excited to take a crack at shooting all the same.

"So how should we go about this?" Addy asked of Kili.

"Well I suppose we should begin with posture given that if you cannot hold the bow properly you will never be able to shoot correctly." Kili said after a moment of serious deliberation.

"Alright, so what is the proper posture then?" Addy asked genuinely curious.

"Well it would probably be better for me to show you actually." Kili said sheepishly as he situated himself behind her.

"Now take the bow with both of your hands." Kili said as his enormous hands enveloped hers and put them in place. Addy began blushing due to their close proximity; she suddenly became very aware of the heat emanating from the dwarf behind her.

"Now take the bow string and pull it back just so." Kili said into her ear as he pulled it back for her. Just then Addy heard someone roar behind them. They quickly disentangled themselves from one another and turned in time to see Thorin storming towards them. Addy was actually a bit frightened by the look on his face.

"Kili! Follow me!" Thorin bellowed at his bewildered nephew.

"Please excuse me Miss Underwood." Kili whispered into her ear before he followed after his enraged uncle.

Addy did her best not to stare at the arguing pair but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that whatever Kili was being chastised for was her doing. After a few moments of Thorin berating his nephew the argument was over and Kili stormed past Addy without so much as a glance her way. Wanting to clear the air on the matter Addy cautiously approached him.

"Thorin, what was that all about?" Addy asked of the angered dwarf.

"It is no concern of yours." Thorin growled in reply.

"Well obviously it had something to do with me since Kili won't even look in my direction now." Addy assumed.

"It would be in your best interest if you did not meddle Miss Underwood." Thorin reprimanded like a father.

"It was my idea you know, I asked him to show me how to shoot. He wasn't being untoward in any way if that is what you were implying." Addy told Thorin honestly.

"I told you not to meddle! Thorin bellowed at her. He did not want to be so cross with her but the whole situation was driving him mad. How could she not see the affect she was having on them? On him for that matter? It was as if she had bewitched the whole lot of them.

"I've seen the way they both look at you. You are by far the prettiest thing they have ever laid eyes upon and I cannot have them constantly fighting one another for your attentions. I promised my sister that I would watch after the pair and I will not have them harmed simply because we have a beautiful woman in our midst." Thorin answered briskly.

"I am sorry to be of such an inconvenience." Addy said not hiding the hurt from her voice. Thorin looked taken aback by her response and she swore she saw a flash of compassion cross his face before he abruptly said, "Excuse me" and left.

Addy was beyond confused. She had noticed the brother's flirtations with her but hadn't thought too deeply into the matter. Did Thorin honestly think she had been toying with them? She didn't think she had been leading them on in any way so why was he so angry with her? And then he went on to say that she was beautiful. What in the world had happened in the last few days? It was then that dinner was being announced. Addy slowly made her way to the dining hall lost in her thoughts. She made a conscious effort to sit as far away from Fili and Kili as was possible and chose a seat next to Bilbo and Balin. They must have noticed she was preoccupied since neither attempted any sort of conversation other than custom pleasantries of course. After dinner was finished and the plates had been cleared Gandalf came to collect Addy in order to bring her to the council. She had completely forgotten about the meeting and quickly became anxious. What if this wizard knew of a way to send her home? It wasn't until that very moment that she realized she actually wanted to stay in Middle Earth. And it was not because of Lucas, but because oddly enough she felt at home in this foreign land. She didn't exactly know how as of yet, but she would manage to find a way to stay. She had to.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter was the death of me! I hope you enjoy it and like the way I am going with this story...I've really been trying to make it unique without straying too much from the story/movie. Like always questions/ comments/ and reviews are always welcome. ENJOY :D**

Addy followed Gandalf and Lord Elrond up a grand staircase to meet with "The White Council" as they had referred to it. Addy was beyond nervous but did her best to hide the fact; she didn't want to let on that she was completely out of her element. Addy quickly felt her nerves melt away as their destination came into view. It was a magnificent gazebo like structure made of pure marble, it stood high upon a precipice overlooking the whole of Rivendell. After having thoroughly ogled the scenery Addy took notice of two others that had been waiting on their arrival. There was a beautiful Elvin woman staring into the vast river below and an older gentleman clad all in white sitting at a table in the center of the structure. The woman was very tall and elegant, adorned in a sheer white gown that twinkled in the setting sunlight. She had waves of golden hair that curled down her back all the way to her waist. Her skin was luminescent and looked as if it had never been blemished in her life. Addy was immediately envious of how effortlessly stunning she was.

"Lady Galadriel may I introduce you to Miss Adelaide Underwood." Lord Elrond said as he gestured in her direction. Addy quickly dropped into a deep courtesy, which Nilda had told her was proper decorum for this particular instance.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady Galadriel." Addy said politely.

Lady Galadriel smiled at her in response while she studied the young woman in front of her. As Addy slowly began to rise the two shared eye contact for a few moments, Galadriel suddenly found herself transfixed for something about those eyes were familiar in a way she couldn't quite explain.

"And this is Saruman the White, the greatest of our order." Gandalf said while pointing his staff in the White Wizards direction. Addy tore her gaze from the Elvin woman to turn her attention to the older gentleman seated at the marble table. He appeared to be older than Gandalf with his stark white hair, he had a grand beard much like Gandalf's, but something about him made Addy feel insignificant and a bit unnerved in a way. He looked as if he knew all the secrets of the world; which he probably did Addy surmised.

"Please be seated Miss Underwood." Said Saruman. At that Gandalf, Lord Elrond, and Addy all took their places at the table. Lady Galadriel loathed sitting and opted to slowly encircle the table instead.

"Now, the reason why I have gathered all of you here this evening is to discern why it is that Miss Underwood has been brought here to Middle Earth." Gandalf began.

"Where did she appear exactly?" Saruman asked of the grey wizard.

"Well it was Thorin Oakenshield that came across her first actually. He had been making his way back from the Iron Hills when they first met. She appeared somewhere just outside of the Trollshacus forest. She has no recollection of how she came to be here or why for that matter. And that is precisely why I called this meeting." Explained Gandalf of Addy's predicament.

"Just outside of the Trollshaws you say?" Saruman interjected. This particular detail piqued his interest.

"Yes, on the north-western end just near The Last Bridge." Gandalf ensured. It was then that realization seemed to dawn on all of them.

"It cannot be." Said Galadriel in astonishment. She stopped suddenly to stare intently at the young woman sitting beside Gandalf. How had she not noticed? Those eyes were not the eyes of a mortal.

"None survived the ruin of Avalon." Lord Elrond said with authority. "We made sure of it."

"There is no way of truly knowing whether or not any survived, Lord Elrond. The Fae wielded magic that was very foreign to us." Saruman said whilst studying Addy. What in the world was going on? They were all staring at her like they had found the Lost Arc of the Covenant.

"Avalon was demolished by Azog nearly two decades ago, what makes you think she could have survived such destruction? She would have been merely a child then. I saw the devastation with my own eyes. There is no way!" Lord Elrond said sternly as he stood abruptly.

"If there had been a way the Fae would have found it, and it would appear that they did." Saurman said mystified.

"How can it be?" Asked Gandalf.

"They must have sent her through some sort of portal in hopes of saving their last heir before all was lost." Saruman said contemplating how they managed such a feat.

"How old are you Miss Underwood?" He then asked. Addy was caught off guard by the question since she hadn't really been a part of the conversation as of yet.

"I am 24 years old." She answered.

"And this dwelling that you come from, did you have any family there?" He enquired.

"Yes, I believe so. I had parents that died in an accident of sorts when I was very young. They had no other immediate family so I was put into an orphanage quickly thereafter." Addy admitted.

"Do you remember your parents Miss Underwood?" He then asked.

"Not exactly. In fact my very first memory is of their accident. There was a lot of screaming and fire but other than that I can't recall much else. Honestly I can't even remember their faces." Addy said recalling the repressed memory. She never thought of it willingly, however it did manage to find its way into her dreams often enough.

"And of what age were you when this accident happened?" Saruman prodded.

"They died on my fifth birthday." Addy said while staring down at her lap. She didn't dare look up in fear of them seeing how her eyes had suddenly filled with tears. She had never told anyone that particular detail about her life, it was just too miserable.

"It is she. The Last Princess of Avalon." Said Galadriel dumbfounded. She had only met the young child once, on the day of her coronation to be exact, but she recognized those eyes and that beauty. Things had been done in haste back then for the threat of Azog had been great. The King and Queen had relinquished their authority and passed it on to their only child following the recommendations of the prophets who had seen the ruin of Avalon in a vision right before it came to pass. They must have seen that the princess would be the only survivor. Galadriel had always been confused by their actions but didn't feel it was her place to question them during such distressing times. Now it all made sense.

"Whoa, hold on! What do you mean the Last Queen of Avalon?" Addy asked a bit hysterically. She was tired of them speaking of her as if she wasn't sitting right there in front of them.

"Miss Underwood you are Fae born." Said Saruman with a sigh.

"What do you mean Fae born? Do you mean to tell me that I am some sort of fairy?" Addy asked incredulously.

"That is precisely what we are telling you. And you are not just some sort of fairy; you are the last Fae of Middle Earth and a Queen at that." Answered Saruman a bit cross.

"There is no way! I am Adelaide Underwood from Lexington, Virginia! My parent's names were Christian and Evangeline! It is impossible that I am who you say I am. Who did you say I was again?" Addy asked feeling utterly befuddled.

"Your full name is Elita Vala Tana Acacia, however on the day of your coronation you became known as Orla, meaning 'Golden Queen'. Your parent's, Rhiannon and Oberon of the line Acacia, were the King and Queen of Avalon when it was destroyed these 20 years past. You were born in the Otherworld known as _Ablach Emain,_ which was the world between the living and the dead and the homeland of the Fae. It resided beneath a great oak tree on the outskirts of the Trollschaus forest. Fae were very uncommon in Middle Earth and many did not know of their existence. It was believed that they were some sort of descendants of the first Elves but as with any other race there was no definitive proof. Only the Elves and Wizards knew of Avalon, until Azog of course. After having been run out of Moria by the Dwarves Azog's fury grew to insurmountable proportions while in hiding. Somehow he managed to find his way into the secret underground city, which still remains a mystery to this day. Once inside he ravaged Avalon and burned it to the ground destroying the race of the Fae along with it. It had been prophesized that a young Fae princess born with golden wings was to be their savior. It was believed to have been you since you were the only fairy that ever bore golden wings; but sadly events transpired rapidly and it became apparent that you were not the savior they had been hoping for. Azog attempted to kidnap you since the prophecy stated that whoever bore the golden wings would wield a fierce magic the likes of which had never been seen before. He must have thought he would have been able to channel the power to his advantage somehow. So in a rush your parents relinquished their powers, named you the Queen of Avalon, and managed to find a way to send you to away in hopes of saving something of their existence."

Addy felt dizzy and couldn't quite comprehend what it was that they were telling her. So she wasn't human after all that much she understood.

"Well that is a terrible story, but like I said before there is no way I am a fairy, I don't even have wings!" Addy exclaimed.

"That must have been part of the spell. To send you to safety must have relinquished you of your powers." Deduced Saruman.

"Yes, but she did managed to survive that awful Warg attack and all those other injuries as well, no mortal would have survived those wounds. Do you think her powers could be returning now that she is back in Middle Earth?" Asked Gandalf animatedly.

"That remains to be seen Gandalf. It could mean a great many things truthfully. But the major question is why she was brought back now of all times?" Saruman questioned of her presence.

"Perhaps she was brought back to help the dwarves on their journey." Gandalf retorted.

"What does helping a misfit band of dwarves to reclaim their homeland from a dragon have to do with being a prophesized savior?" Saruman replied haughtily.

"I haven't the faintest idea, but it is just too peculiar for her to have run into Thorin of all people when she first arrived. You cannot claim that was simply a coincidence." Gandalf assured.

"That is an interesting detail Gandalf, but that is all it is, a detail. The Dwarves and Fae never interacted before and I highly doubt she was brought back merely so that they could now." Snapped Saruman. Feeling the conversation was taking an unexpected turn Lord Elrond decided to step in.

"I have long been curious of the Fae's faith in the young child at the time; she was so little then it was hard to believe that she was to be their savior. But now that I think on the matter I remember the lack of detail the prophecy entailed. Perhaps she has been brought back to save them now." Lord Elrond spoke.

"You are quite right Lord Elrond, the prophecy didn't illuminate much on the matter. Sadly we lost it along with Avalon I'm afraid." Saruman said seeming a bit exasperated by the entire situation.

"What can you remember of the prophecy?" Addy asked figuring there must be some shred of evidence to prove that she was not who they claimed her to be.

"It stated that a daughter of Acacia, born with golden wings would become the savior of the Fae in a time of great need. It also specified that she would wield a fierce power incomparable to any ever seen. All the elements pointed to you, all but one. It said that whoever was to be their savior would have to acquire a long lost relic of Avalon in order to exercise their hidden powers. After much research your parents deduced that they must have been referring to the 'Ring of the Fata', which was the last vestige of the very first Fae who founded Avalon. Your parents searched all over Middle Earth and beyond in hopes of finding it in time to defeat Azog and his army, but alas they did not." Explained Lord Elrond.

"And this ring, what would it have looked like?" Addy began fingering the ring that had called out to her in the troll hoard.

"We are not exactly sure since we were never able to acquire it. There was one very important detail that eluded your parents until after Avalon was invaded. I didn't happen upon it myself until just a few years back whilst reading old scripts that we managed to save before the burning. It took me quite some time to get a hang of the ancient language of the Faerie you see. But from what I understand the ring had a protection spell on it which made it invisible to all those that were not the savior. Meaning only the savior would have been able to find it." Lord Elrond revealed woefully.

"Would the ring be visible to others if the prophet had managed to obtain it?" Addy then asked.

"I would not know to be honest. I suppose that could be a possibility, but there is no real way of ever knowing." Lord Elrond answered.

"It wouldn't happen to be this ring would it?" Addy said as she placed the band on the table in front of her. The room suddenly became silent as they all turned to examine the ring Addy had just produced.

Lord Elrond gingerly picked up the ring to give it a closer inspection. Upon picking it up the ring seemed to glow as red as fire. Lord Elrond dropped it suddenly as a welt began to appear on his hand where the ring had just been. Gandalf bent to retrieve the ring that had fallen to the ground with his robe wrapped around his hand.

"That magic is not of this realm." Said Saruman.

"It is the 'Ring of the Fata'." Said Galadriel. "The Fae were known for their abilities to control the elements, they must have found a way to use them to protect the ring." She said interestedly.

"Pick up the ring again Miss Underwood." Instructed Saruman. Addy did as she was told and picked up the ring. Nothing happened this time except some sort of writing appeared. Addy held it out towards Lord Elrond to see if he could discern what the runes meant.

"I am afraid that I cannot read these for this is not the ancient Faerie that I have become accustomed to." Lord Elrond said perplexed.

"Well then it has been settled. You are Orla Elita Vala Tana Acacia, The Last Queen of the Fae." Said Saruman.

"So what you are telling me is that you believe me to be a fairy queen that was born with golden wings and was thought to be a savior but in reality wasn't at all?" This was all too surreal Addy could barely wrap her mind around the idea.

"Yes. That is what we believe. But do not forget Miss Underwood, you were brought back for some purpose and we will figure out what it is. Perhaps Lord Elrond was correct in thinking that you were brought back to save the Fae somehow." Said Saruman.

"So what does this mean for me exactly?" Addy asked a bit scared of the answer.

"We do not know I am afraid. As of now all we can rally do is let things transpire before we can decipher why it is that you appeared now of all times. The Fae were a very secretive race, we knew little of their existence. We were only privy to what your parents told us, as well as what Lord Elrond has been able to decode from the scripts of course. Had we known more of your people's history we might have been able to figure out why it is that you were brought back." Said Saruman.

"I see." Said Addy as she stood to pace back and forth. She felt as if she was going to jump out of her skin.

"Miss Underwood are you feeling well? You look a bit peaked." Gandalf said a bit alarmed.

"Oh yes I am quite alright, aside from the fact that I have just been told that I am some long lost savior of a dead race that I can't even remember being a part of." Addy said not trying to hide the panic from her voice.

"I understand this is a lot to take in but you must realize this is quite a shock to us as well. We thought the Fae had been extinct you see." Said Lord Elrond trying to calm her in some way.

"Am I to continue on the journey?" Addy blurted out unexpectedly. She felt vexed for she had really come to enjoy the company of the Dwarves and hoped they would allow her to continue on the expedition.

"I do not believe it to be wise. I suggest you stay here in Rivendell with Lord Elrond and I until we can decipher why it is that you were brought back." Said Saruman. Gandalf then looked at her as if he knew some great secret she did not. All of a sudden Addy could hear Lady Galadriel's voice in her mind, she turned to see if the Elvin woman was actually speaking aloud, only to realize she was not.

"It is quite apparent that you have been brought back to help the Dwarves along on their quest, even though Saruman does not wish to admit it. He intends to study you in hopes of learning how to exercise your powers. No being other than yourself can attempt this for it could bring great danger to Middle Earth. You must leave this instant. Go assemble Thorin and his company and be on your way through the mountain pass, they will not think to search for you that way. Be wary of all, and do not under any circumstances let others know of your true identity. I will distract them as long as possible but make haste. Gandalf will be along after do not fret."

Addy nodded thanks in her direction before claiming that she felt ill and needed a rest. Lady Galadriel must have spoken to Gandalf as well since he wore an expression of great sadness as he watched her leave. She smiled his way in hopes of letting him know that they would somehow meet again. With that Addy was off, she made her way to her chambers as fast as her gown would allow. Once there she packed all of her belongings and swiftly changed into the leather armor Nilda had had made up for her. It was forest green so that she could blend in with her surroundings, and so lightweight Addy felt as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. She then strapped on her twin blades and went in search of the Dwarves. Addy knew Thorin was going to be apprehensive, especially since she couldn't tell him why they were fleeing at dusk, but she would have to manage somehow. Addy looked all over for the company and finally found them in the courtyard. She scanned the group and quickly made out Thorin, he was off to the side leaning against a wall studying the map of Erebor. Addy rushed over to him to discuss leaving.

"Thorin we must leave at once." She told the proud dwarf that towered over her. She all of a sudden realized how tall he was compared to her, maybe she really was a fairy, it would explain the height at least.

"And why is that? It is becoming dark out, it would be unwise for us to travel during the night." Thorin hadn't even looked up from the map he was so disinterested in what she had to say. Not knowing what else to do Addy came up with a little white lie.

"Lord Elrond wishes to stop us, he claims our journey to be foolish!" She blurted out before she could think it through. Oh well she thought, it's not like the Dwarves liked the Elves anyways. It seemed to have worked since Thorin's expression quickly went from indifference to disgust.

"Elves! Always meddling where it is not their business. Well not this day! We must leave at once! Dwalin! Assemble the company we are leaving Rivendell this instant!" Thorin bellowed at his second in command. With that the whole room erupted in commotion as they readied themselves to travel. Bilbo then approached her looking awfully worried.

"Gandalf is not to accompany us?" He asked of Addy.

"Yes I'm afraid so Bilbo, but he will catch up with us, do not fret." Addy smiled at the discouraged Hobbit in hopes of reassuring him, she didn't think she was doing a very good job of it though since she could barely convince herself on the matter.

"Thorin, we must take the mountain pass. Gandalf said the Elves would not think to follow us if we took that passage." Addy then told the king having forgotten.

"Very well. Miss Underwood I suggest you stay behind. The mountains are very dangerous, they are the home to some awful creatures and it is no place for a woman. If you were to be hurt, or worse killed, I would not be able to forgive myself for putting you in that position." Thorin said suddenly as if he were embarrassed by his own words.

"Don't even try Thorin, I am going with you and that is that. If I die so be it." Addy said feeling far more confident in that moment than ever before. If she really was this long lost queen then she needed to find answers and fast. She had no time to sit around Rivendell and dwell on the matter, she needed to be proactive.

"You are a very stubborn young woman you know that?" Thorin said bemused.

"If you only knew the half of it. I'm going to see if I can be of any help." Addy mumbled before walking away.

Thorin watched the young woman leave and couldn't shake the feeling that something about her had changed in the past few hours. She had a look of determination about her that Thorin knew all too well, it had been his constant mask for the past 160 odd years. He truly wished she would stay behind, he had grown to admire her spirit and would never forgive himself if any harm came to her. In that moment he realized that he truly did have feelings for Adelaide no matter how hard he fought them. It would never work anyway. She was a lost soul looking for a way home and he was an exiled king without a kingdom, what a pair they would make he thought cynically. With that he snickered to himself and began preparing for the journey ahead. He was anxious to finally set eyes upon his lost home nestled in the Lonely Mountain.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's been taking me so long to update, school blows...lets leave it at that. Like always comments/ reviews/ suggestions/ blahblahblah are always welcome :D Also I'm gonna make a poll to see what you guys think on a certain matter so if you want your voice to be heard then answer it. ENJOY**

The company wound its way through the mountain pass as fast as they possible could, hoping not to attract any unwanted attention. Addy was far too preoccupied with her own thoughts to converse with anyone so she positioned herself in the very back of the procession, away from the others. It was then that she noticed a change in her companions; they were much more serious on this leg of this trip than they had been previously. She presumed it was thoughts of the looming dragon that silenced most of them.

They wordlessly followed their leader for days, only stopping when it was absolutely necessary to eat and rest. Addy barely slept for every time she attempted to those pale blue eyes haunted her. These dreams troubled her nightly, since the Pale Orc managed to make an appearance each and every time. Something deep inside told her this was Azog, the destroyer of Avalon. It was most peculiar since she had never seen him in her dreams before appearing in Middle Earth. So why was she dreaming of him now? There was so much about her life that remained a mystery to her; she felt hopeless through and through most of the time. It was her fault that the Fae had been wiped out and yet she had been their sole survivor; how cruel life could be sometimes. One night Addy actually managed to get a few moments of rest only to be awoken by her own screams. Upon opening her eyes she found Thorin hovering over her with a concerned look on his face.

"What were you just dreaming of?" He asked worriedly.

"My parent's accident." Addy misled.

"Then why were you calling out my name?" Thorin asked knowing full well she had just lied to him. Addy hadn't realized she had been, however it made sense since every time the Pale Orc appeared Thorin was there as well, lying on the ground unconscious.

"It is no concern of yours so leave it be." Addy said snappishly. She didn't mean to be so curt with him but the weight of everything was bearing down heavily on her and the lack of sleep was not helping. "You should get some rest, I'll take the next watch." Addy said to Thorin before standing to leave.

"I know something troubles you greatly Miss Underwood. You think we cannot see it, but I can. Something about you changed back in Rivendell." Thorin admitted to her.

"Like I said, it is no concern of yours. Believe me, it is best that I keep you in the dark on this so please just let it rest." She said a bit more disconsolately this time.

"I am the leader of this company, each and every one of you are my responsibility! If something is troubling you so much so that you can barely manage more than a few minutes of sleep every night then yes it is of my concern. I cannot have you accompany us when you can scarcely keep your eyes. We have very rough terrain ahead and you will need your wits about you." Thorin said sternly.

"Oh just admit it Thorin! You never wanted me along in the first place! I am just an annoyance to you!" Addy cried out barely holding back tears. She hated being this emotional all the time, it made her feel weak, especially in front of Thorin who was the very  
picture of austerity.

"That is untrue!" He bellowed back. He then reached out to cup her cheek in his hand in attempts to consoler her. She had been so distressed ever since they had departed from Rivendell and he had no idea as to why. He wished he could do something to help but no matter how much he prodded she would not reveal what was bothering her so. In that moment he longed to tell her how he truly felt but could not find the words. Addy leaned into his hand grateful for the human contact, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt truly comforted. The pair stood motionless staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity. Addy waited in anticipation for him to speak more on the matter only to be met with silence.

"Whatever you say Thorin." Addy sighed heavily before standing to leave. As she walked away the warmth his hand had brought to her slowly faded, leaving her cold and miserable. No matter how hard she had tried to change they somehow always managed to find her; they were her constant companions, but at least they were loyal she thought sadistically to herself.

Addy awoke the next morning nestled in Thorin's cloak. She could not recall falling asleep but was glad for the rest all the same. She took in her surroundings having forgotten where she had wandered off to after her tiff with Thorin. She was surprised to find herself next to the fire she had helped build the night before. How on earth had she come to be here? She had thoughtlessly walked as far as possible from camp in hopes of clearing her mind, yet it only made her realize how truly exhausted she actually was. All she could remember was curling up into a ball and falling asleep beneath a great tree. Thorin must have followed her and brought her back to safety. Why was it that he could be scolding her one moment, only to go and do something so thoughtful the next? She knew then that she must find a way to leave the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, because she was falling heedlessly in love with him and it simply could not be. She was the Last Queen of Avalon and he was the exiled King under the Mountain, they could never make it work. She didn't care what Galadriel had told her, she needed to distance herself from him before her feelings grow any stronger. Why did love always have to hurt so much? She questioned miserably as she began to rise.

"Thank you for lending me your cloak." She said softly as she handed the garment back to him cautious not to wake any of the other resting Dwarves.

"You must promise me not to stray so far away from camp unprotected. I ask that next time you let me know before you wander off. I will accompany you solely as a precaution to make sure no harm comes to you." Thorin said with such intensity in his eyes that Addy had to look away suddenly so he would not notice her blushing in response. It was his eyes she would miss the most she then realized.

"I promise." The words felt empty in her mouth knowing she wasn't going to be a part of the company for much longer. "I'm sorry to have been so rude to you last night. It's the lack of sleep that's all."

"You need not apologize Adelaide. I was meddling where it was none of my business." Thorin dismissed. Addy couldn't believe he had used her actual name. Usually he was the prime example of proper decorum, especially when it came to interacting with her. Why the sudden change she pondered. It was then that Addy really wanted to let him in on all of it, specifically her growing feelings towards him, but she knew better. There was no way Thorin felt the same, so what would be the point in humiliating herself? She then decided to do a bit of investigating. After all Thorin was the only person she knew that had actually interacted with Azog; even if he had just cut his arm off, at least he knew what he looked like.

"The Pale Orc Azog, what did he look like exactly?" She then asked him.

"You must not concern yourself with such wicked things. I killed him in battle long ago and that is all you need know of Azog the Defiler." He said boldly.

"But what if he is not dead? What if he lived all those years ago?" Addy pleaded with Thorin.

"Why are you speaking of this all of a sudden? Is that what they told you in Rivendell? That Azog lives?" He said venomously.

"Perhaps." Was all Addy chose to reveal.

"He died of his wounds at Azanulbizar and that is that!" Thorin said definitively before he rose brusquely and strode off to awaken the rest of the company. Addy couldn't find it in herself to tell him that he was wrong on the matter. There was no way he would believe her anyways since Lady Galadriel told her specifically that she was to tell no one of her true identity.

Addy then went to wake Bilbo for the long day ahead. She felt bad disturbing the Hobbit's sleep since he looked so peaceful. In that moment she realized how much she would miss Bilbo and the rest of the Dwarves. She had grown to care for all of them and would be greatly distressed to leave the lot behind. They had become her dear friends and she truly wished that she did not have to part from them. But she knew she must.

"Bilbo! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Addy called to him. Bilbo merely rolled over and threw his arm over his eyes in protest.

"Bilbo I'm warning you, if you don't wake up right now you'll regret it." Addy cooed while smiling down at him. She then began poking him repeatedly, giggling to herself as the Hobbit became more and more disturbed.

"Alright! Alright! I am awake! Has anyone ever told you that you are truly terrible at waking people up?" Bilbo said obviously perturbed.

"You don't say." Addy said while stifling a snicker. "Has anyone ever told you that you look hilarious when you first wake up?" She asked of the disgruntled Hobbit. His hair was sticking up every which way and he had an indentation on half of his face from where he had been resting his head upon his bedroll.

"Just you wait! When the opportunity comes I will pay you back for the countless times you have awoken me in a horrible fashion!" Bilbo said playfully while pointing an accusatory finger in her direction.

"I wouldn't expect any less." She managed to say before another bout of giggles erupted. "I truly am going to miss our little scuffles we have bright and early each morning, it really does make my day." Addy then accidentally revealed.

"What do you mean Miss Underwood? If I am not mistaken we have not even hit the halfway mark yet." Bilbo said curiously.

"Oh I just meant in the future when they finally figure out a way to send me home." Addy said quickly, hoping he would believe her falsehood.

"What if they cannot find a way? What will you do then?" Bilbo asked genuinely curious on the matter.

"I always figured I would just follow you home to Hobbiton and live with you." Addy said jokingly knowing full well how much Bilbo enjoyed his privacy.

"I suppose that would work. That is if you truly had nowhere else to go. Of course we would have to rearrange some things around a bit but we could manage." Bilbo then said unaffectedly. Apparently he wasn't very good at picking up on sarcasm.

"Oh Bilbo that is very generous of you but I could not put you out like that! I know how much you enjoy your privacy and would never wish to be such a burden." Addy then said self-consciously.

"Very well, just know that the offer still stands, if you cannot find your way home that is. Now I do believe I smell sausage, please excuse me." Just then Bilbo stood and went to get some breakfast. Addy was left sitting next to his bedroll completely befuddled. What had gotten into everybody? First Thorin caring after her and now Bilbo offering her a place to live, obviously everyone had lost their minds.

After each had had a chance to eat they packed up and continued on their way. Much to her dismay Addy had somehow managed to be situated in the front with Thorin. She didn't mind his company but was finding it harder and harder each time she had to lie to him. Something must have been troubling him as well since he barely spoke a word to her. A few times it seemed as if he was going to say something of importance to her only to go and snicker to himself and then plow ahead in front. Addy was far too deep in thought, sorting out the technicalities of parting from the company, to question what was bothering him so. If she was to leave she would have to do it soon. She planned to slip away during night without notice in hopes of gaining quite a bit of ground before they discovered that she had gone missing. It would be difficult since they always had someone keep watch; thankfully she knew which usually fell asleep on the job. Most commonly it was Oin and Bombur that would drift off in the wee hours of the night. Just then the sky opened up and it suddenly began to pour. Even though the sun had set hours before the company had kept on, slowly winding their way through the Misty Mountains. Somehow Addy had managed to fall behind and found herself walking next to Bilbo and Dwalin. They had been shuffling along the side of the mountain pass with barely enough room for each to pass. Addy and Dwalin had caught Bilbo more than a few times before he managed to plummet to his death.

"We need to find shelter!" Thorin then bellowed from the front of the convoy. Just as he had spoken the mountain began to shift. Addy thought she was going mad and that it was all in her mind until she saw the panic on Bilbo's face as well.

"This is no thunder storm! It is a thunder battle!" Balin yelled over the deafening noise, pointing towards the adjoining mountain. Just then the mountain took the form of a giant; Addy could not believe her eyes. A sudden crash pulled her out of the shock of it all. There were two stone behemoths now and they were throwing massive boulders at one another. Each time the boulders made contact there was a deafening noise that sounded much like thunder.

"Blimey! The legends are true!" Dwalin cried over the booming sounds.

The rest of the Dwarves tried their best to move along as fast as they possibly could only to be stopped by a sudden tremor. Much to their despair the mountain they were attempting to travel across turned into a stone giant as well, splitting the procession in half. Addy could hear Thorin cry out their names as he and a few others disappeared from sight. She held onto Bilbo with all of her might as they were swung around by the titan. Thorin and the others managed to make it to safety while the rest of them were left to the will of their captor. A few moments later their giant seemed to take a huge blow to the head. Addy braced herself for the impending contact as their giant slowly collapsed back into the mountainside in which he came from. Addy was thrown on top of Fili as she landed safely in the pile of Dwarves. Just then Thorin came running from where they had been deposited on the other side of the mount.

"Addy! Fili!" He cried out thinking they had been smashed to death on impact. Relief flooded his face when he saw Addy being helped up by his young nephew. After looking around Addy quickly realized that Bilbo was not amongst them.

"Bilbo! Where is Bilbo?" She cried out a bit hysterically, fearing the worst for her friend.

"Where has the Halfling gone to now?" Questioned Dwalin harshly. Addy suddenly heard a cry come from below and flung herself to the ground. Bilbo was scarcely keeping ahold of the ledge and couldn't find any footing since the rain was making the rock far too slick. Addy extended her arm as far possible in attempts to grab ahold of him but still could not reach. It was then that Bilbo slipped and was barely holding on with one hand. Addy then impulsively leapt down and heaved Bilbo back up onto the ledge. Having not thought through how she would manage to get herself back up Addy dangled there for a moment contemplating whether or not she should just let go. It would be easier after all she thought morbidly to herself. It would all be gone in an instant; there would be no more of her unknown destiny, no more Azog, and most importantly no more pain.

"Adelaide grab my hand!" Thorin shouted at her anxiously wondering why she had not done so already. Addy numbly looked at his outstretched hand and then back down into the unknown beneath her, considering what to do. He must have known what she was thinking since he then jumped down beside her and easily threw her back onto the precipice, quickly followed by himself.

"What were you thinking?" He hollered at her after having caught his breath.

"Nothing! I was just frozen from fear that's all! I'm not terribly fond of heights you know." She yelled back defensively.

"You had no qualms when it came to flinging yourself over to save Mr. Baggins!" Thorin retorted, knowing she was being dishonest with him.

"Do not be hard on Miss Underwood!" Said Bilbo in her defense. "She did manage to save me after all." He then added softly while Thorin glared at him.

"I knew you would be a burden! Thanks to you she almost died!" He roared.

"Do not be cross with him! It is not his fault that the mountains decided to battle it out tonight! Also, I was the one that impulsively jumped down to save him, if you are going to be angry at anyone be angry with me!" Addy said protectively of her friend. She knew then that she would have to leave that very night, things were getting far too messy for her liking.

"We will discuss this later. We must find shelter now." Thorin said sternly then.

The troop pushed on until they came across a cave. After a thorough investigation Thorin decided they would make camp there for the night. Addy was thankful to finally be out of the rain but something about the shelter irked her. In hopes of avoiding another scolding from Thorin she rapidly laid out her bedroll and pretended to sleep. It seemed the rest of the company was genuinely exhausted since they all began falling asleep one by one. Addy silently said her goodbyes to each and every one praying that they would all make it to Erebor alive and well. She was surprised to find tears slowly falling down her cheeks as she said her last farewell. Unfortunately Bofur was on guard duty but thankfully after a while he slowly began to drift off as well. Addy knew that if she was to leave unnoticed it would have to be now. As quietly as she could she began packing up her things readying herself for the journey back to Rivendell. She hoped that she would be able to bide some time there while figuring out what her next move was to be. Maybe Lord Elrond would be able to teach her the ancient language of the Faerie so she could investigate the scripts for herself. Once she was fully packed Addy slowly rose to depart as quietly as possible. There were a few moments when she thought she had been caught by Bilbo, only to realize he was merely talking in his sleep. Addy quietly crept over to the resting Hobbit and planted a light kiss on his cheek while saying an extra prayer for his safety, since he was so clearly out of his element. With that Addy was finally able to depart. Just as she had reached the opening of the cave she was abruptly pulled back in.

"Where do you think you are going?" Thorin scolded.

"I am going back to Rivendell and there is nothing you can do to stop me so don't even waste your energy." Addy replied rebelliously.

"Why are you leaving? Is it because I scolded you earlier? I did not mean to be so cross with you, you just frightened me. I actually thought you were going to jump." He said shamefacedly.

"So what if I was? What is it to you anyways? This whole time you have made me feel like nothing more than a nuisance! Why should I stay?" Addy whispered back indignantly.

"Because I am falling in love with you!" He hissed back, angry at himself for being so frank.

"What did you just say?" Addy asked incredulously.

"I merely meant that I have grown very fond of your company and would be sorry to see you leave, that is all." Thorin quickly tried his best to backtrack.

"No you definitely said love." Addy countered.

"So what if I did?" Thorin asked abruptly.

"Well I mean if you actually meant that you might be falling in love with me I would probably tell you that the feeling is mutual." Addy mumbled blushingly. Thorin then looked her in the eyes to gauge whether or not she was toying with him. From what he could discern she was telling the truth.

"You mean to tell me that you are falling in love with me as well?" Thorin asked as a coy smile played at his lips.

"It would seem so now wouldn't it?" She fired back annoyed by all the questioning. Just then Thorin gently reached down to cup her face in his hands while slowly inching towards her. He gently placed his lips on hers just long enough for them each to feel a spark between them.

"What was that?" Addy asked in amazement as she pulled away from him. She had never felt that sensation before in her life and immediately wanted more. Before Thorin could answer Addy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into another kiss, this one being a lot less gentle. The spark was undeniable this time around. Addy was so immersed in the deep kiss that she had completely forgotten her surroundings, it was as if the rest of the world had melted away. As she pulled away to catch her breath she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

"What is that?" Addy asked between kisses. Thorin was far too preoccupied with gently nibbling at her ear that he didn't even bother to look up. "No really what is that?" Addy then said pulling away from his greedy lips. She then turned his head towards the blue light that was coming from Bilbo's sword.

"I haven't the faintest idea." Thorin responded before trailing kisses down her neck. Just then they both heard an unearthly howl come from below as a seam appeared in the ground.

"Thorin!" Addy screamed out as the ground gave way. Thorin wrapped his arms around Addy in hopes of protecting her from whatever was to meet them below in the depths of the Misty Mountains.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry it took me so long to update, mid-terms have been consuming my life. I plan on writing up until the end of the movie tonight and will hopefully be posting it in a few hours. I'm really excited about the next chapter but felt I should give you a little something since it has been so long since I last posted. Thanks so much for all of your support and as always any questions, comments, suggestions, or even random thoughts are welcome. I hope you enjoy :D P.S. my spring break is coming up on Friday and I will be visiting Ireland and Scotland so I will be unable to update but I promise that once I come back I will take up the story again!**

The group briskly tumbled down into the depths of the mountain, eventually landing in a crude basket of sorts. Much to her distress Addy was one of the first to land only to be squashed by each and every Dwarf thereafter. Thorin had been separated from her during their descent and was the first to regain his footing.

"Adelaide! Adelaide where are you?" He bellowed whilst looking desperately for her small frame in the mass of Dwarves. Addy was attempting to call out to him but still hadn't managed to catch her breath from the initial impact. Just then a commotion of odd creatures appeared out of nowhere. They weren't Orcs, Addy knew that much, they were far too small to be Orcs. They did have the same slimy inbred look to them however; they must be distant relations she thought ironically to herself. Before she knew it her wrists were bound and she was being herded along with the rest of the company to an unknown destination.

Having a moment to finally take in her surroundings Addy deduced that they had landed in hell. The group was being shuffled along on makeshift walkways that looked as if they were one Dwarf short of buckling. The deep underground cavern was littered with these unsound bridges, each lined with a mass of candles to illuminate the ragged space. They were deep in the heart of the mountain now, so deep that Addy couldn't discern where the ground ended and the mountain began. Addy's head spun every time she dared to look into its depths. Conscious not to stumble and fall to her death Addy stopped for a moment to clear her head only to be lashed with metal chains.

"Jesus Christ! What did you do that for?" Addy screamed out as she began thrashing back at her captors. "Where are you taking us?" Addy demanded of the creature dragging her along.

"To the Great Goblin!" With that all of the other Goblins joined in and began chanting 'Goblin King' in unison.

"Thanks for clearing that up." Addy said sarcastically to herself. Then her mind began to race, who was this 'Great Goblin'? What if he knew Azog? These creatures must band together in some sort, what if the two were allies? Addy thought her head was going to implode from all of her worries. How had life become so complicated she questioned to herself. After having been pushed along for quite some time the group finally came to a stop at a huge rock jutting out from below, which had been fashioned into a throne of sorts. Addy looked up from her feet to discern who this so called 'Goblin King' was. What her eyes saw disgusted her. This guy was in serious need of some dermatological help Addy first thought. He had at least one kind of cancer, if they even had cancer in Middle Earth. He was enormous and that was putting it lightly, his chin alone could easily squash at least two of his minions.

"Who dares to come into my Kingdom armed?" The Great Goblin boomed. He towered over them at ten feet tall, his teeth were black with rot, warts and boils littered his body, and he had the nasty tendency to spit every time he spoke. "Spies, thieves, assassins?" He roared.

"Dwarves your malevolence." Answered one of his cronies.

"Dwarves? I haven't laid eyes on a Dwarf since the Battle of Azanulbizar. " The Goblin King said in response. "Well do not just stand there, search them! Every crack, every crevice!" He demanded. "What brings you to these parts?" He then asked of them seeming genuinely curious as to how they came to be in his kingdom. None of the company offered up any reasoning as to why they were in his realm, leaving the king far more irritable than before.

"Very well, if they will not talk we will make them squawk! Bring up the mangler! Bring up the bone breaker!" He then commanded after being met with silence. "We shall start with the youngest first!" The king ordered while pointing his staff, adorned with some sort of skull and dangling shrunken heads, at Ori.

"Wait!" Thorin bellowed as he made his way to the front to address the king.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain. But wait, I am forgetting, you do not have a mountain, and you are not a king, which makes you nobody really." The Goblin King said while bowing mockingly to the proud Dwarf in front of him. Thorin clearly puffed out his chest in regards to the insult. The king then gave the lot a closer look to see if there were any more surprise visitors amongst them; while scanning his gaze stopped suddenly on Addy in the very back.

"And what do we have here? A queen reagent perhaps?" The Goblin King asked. Just then all of the Dwarves began looking around wondering when a queen had shown up. Addy began looking around to blend in, knowing full well he was speaking of her.

"You there in the back, with the blond hair, come forward." The king demanded. Thorin turned to follow the Goblins eye line landing on Addy.

"What is the meaning of this?" Thorin then asked venomously in response, feeling the Great Goblin was making a fool of him. If there had been a queen in their company he of all people would have known.

"Oh! Please forgive me, I have forgotten how truly naive Dwarves can be." The king said in response with a bite. Thorin struggled to break away from the Goblins that were guarding him, he almost succeeded until another began beating him back with chains. Addy was struggling so hard against her bindings that her wrists were beginning to bleed; she desperately wanted to help Thorin but couldn't managed to break free. "What I meant is that we are all in the presence of The Last Queen of Avalon." The Goblin King then clarified.

"Avalon? You must be joking! You know full well that dwelling does not exist, it is merely a fable made up for the amusement of children! " Thorin growled.

"You would not have noticed I suppose, since the Dwarf race is so good at ignoring what they cannot see." He said in response to Thorin. "She knows of what I speak." He said while looking at Addy with a knowing smile. It was then that all of the Dwarves and Goblins turned to look at the petite blond girl in the back. Addy did her best not to let on that the king was speaking the truth, she avoided all of the prodding eyes and stared fixedly at the Goblin King in front of her.

"You are lying!" Thorin bellowed back. If the Fae truly existed he would have come across at least one of them in all of his years.

"As much as you wish to believe otherwise she is a queen, no matter your feelings on the matter Thorin Oakenshield." The Great Goblin said meaningfully. Thorin then turned to truly look at Addy. It all made sense now, how she had come to be in Middle Earth, her ethereal beauty, her peculiar color changing eyes. How had he not seen it before?

Addy saw realization dawn on Thorin's face as he stared at her in disbelief. She wanted so much to pull him aside to explain everything but knew she would probably never have the chance.

"Now Miss I do believe I know of someone that would pay a great deal to know you survived all those years ago." The Goblin King interjected playfully. He would be rewarded greatly for the pair, all without even having to lift a finger.

"You know of whom I speak. A pale Orc, astride a white Warg." He crooned.

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed! He was slain in battle long ago!" Thorin snarled back in disgust.

"So you think his defiling days are done do you?" With that the king turned to address a tiny Goblin harnessed in some sort of zip line. "Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him that I have found his prize! Let him know that I have Thorin as well; I'm sure he would be willing to pay handsomely for his head." The king said while smirking down at Thorin as the tiny Goblin sailed off to send the message, giggling maliciously to itself.

"What does Azog mean to do with her?" Thorin then asked worriedly.

"Wouldn't you like to know? Pity you'll be dead before any of it comes to light." The Goblin King taunted knowing what Azog had been planning for her. He had searched high and low for nearly twenty years looking for the lost queen, hoping to find a way to wield her powers as if they were his own. If Azog succeeded it would change all of Middle Earth forever. They would no longer be cast aside as abominations of the world, forced to live in hiding. They would rule it all, without having to answer to those who have shunned their existence for so long. They would answer to them now.

Just then hoards of Goblins appeared pushing along an odd contraption that Addy presumed must be the 'bone breaker'. So this was how it was all to end. She would be taken to Azog, Thorin would be beheaded, and the rest would have their very life squeezed out of them. Addy's thoughts were interrupted by the Goblin King breaking out into song.

"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung! You will die down here and never be found! Down in the deep of Goblin-Town!" He sang giddily, anxious for their blood to be spilt. As he finished singing one of his underlings picked up Orchrist and began to unsheathe the legendary sword to get a better look at the weapon. The king caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye and immediately began shrinking backwards.

"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks! Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!" He cried out in fear.

The Goblins began lashing them mercilessly until they were all sprawled out on the ground helplessly. Addy was doing her best to fight back but couldn't hold off the mass of Goblins that kept appearing, one after another. Addy looked over to see if Thorin was faring any better only to see him completely surrounded. A Goblin was hovering over him with a dagger drawn, seconds away from imbedding it deeply into his eye. Addy tried to scream out to him but was suddenly blown backwards by a blinding white light. It took a few moments for them to regain their wits. Addy was one of the first up and quickly grabbed her twin blades anticipating the inevitable fight that was to come. She noticed a shadowy figure approaching and took a defensive stance. After a few moments Addy recognized the outline of the hat and realized that it was Gandalf.

"Take up arms! Fight! Fight!" He demanded of them.

It didn't take long for the rest to find their weapons and jump into action. Addy quickly realized that fighting Goblins was an easy sport. They were clumsy and inept making them easy to kill and even easier to push off of the bridge they were fighting on. Addy looked over just in time to see Thorin strike against the Goblin King with such force that it pushed him over the ledge. After a few moments of fighting they had killed enough to clear a path for their escape. Gandalf led them as they wound their way through the never-ending maze of pathways. Each and every Dwarf was fighting with all of their might hoping to make it out alive in one piece. Addy knew better, given the circumstances, but could not help but feel pleased, for she finally felt like a worthy member of the company. Each and every one of them played off of one another's fighting styles, killing any and all that came into their path. They had been separated sometime along the way but managed to reunite with each other just as Gandalf struck the ceiling with his staff releasing a giant stone boulder crushing any in its way. Just as they were about to make it out of the caves the Great Goblin erupted from below blocking their pathway.

"You thought you could escape me?" He asked while wildly swinging his staff at them. Gandalf fell backwards to avoid his blows. Luckily Ori, Dori, and Nori caught him in time to push him back up to fight. "What are you going to do now Wizard?" He asked of Gandalf. Gandalf proceeded to poke him in the eye with is staff, sliced him in the stomach, and slit his throat. "Well that'll do it." Were the Great Goblin's last words as he collapsed to the ground, upending the boardwalk beneath them. With that they all began gliding down into the unknown, grasping for anything that might stabilize them during their descent. Addy practically jumped on top of Thorin hoping not to repeat their previous plunge where she broke each and every Dwarf's fall. They eventually landed with a booming thud.

"Well that could have been worse!" Bofur offered optimistically before the body of the Goblin King landed atop of them.

"You've got to be joking." Dwalin grumbled as they all began digging their way out of the wreckage.

Just then a great commotion erupted from above. They all looked up to see each and every Goblin barreling towards them.

"We must find daylight! Run!" Gandalf ordered. Thorin helped Addy to her feet and they were off. Thankfully they had landed near an opening in the cave and quickly found themselves in daylight sprinting down the side of the mountain. After running for quite some time they eventually stopped to catch their breath. Gandalf began counting them to see if they had lost anybody during their escape.

"Where is Bilbo?" Gandalf asked worriedly after coming up one short.

"Where has the burglar gone to now?" Asked Dwalin curtly.

"I saw him disappear when we were first collared. They must not have recognized the scent of a Hobbit." Offered Nori to Gandalf.

"Dori was supposed to be looking after him!" Said Dwalin sternly.

"It is not my fault the Halfling has gone missing!" Dori said defensively.

The whole company began looking around to see if they had merely over looked the Halfling. Addy felt guilty having completely forgotten her friend during all of the commotion, not that she would have been able to do anything really.

"He has left us! He has dreamt of nothing but his warm hearth since he left his Hobbit hole!" Thorin said accusingly.

"He would not abandon us! Not now!" Addy cried out in response.

"And what makes you think that?" Thorin asked harshly.

"How dare you! All you have done on this journey is question his presence! He is here out of the goodness of his heart and you have done nothing but make him feel unwelcome! Just because he is not like you does not mean his is any less of a person!" Addy yelled back having had enough of Thorin constantly questioning their burglar. Thorin was taken aback by her harsh words. Had he really been that awful to the Halfling? Just then Bilbo appeared out of thin air.

"Bilbo! Where one earth did you come from?" Gandalf asked of him, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"I was lost in the depths of the caves. I was looking for a way out when I saw you running past and followed you." He explained.

"Why did you come back?' Thorin then questioned.

"Well, why does it matter? He is back!" Gandalf said while laughing genially.

"It matters. I want to know, why did you come back?" Thorin asked warmly.

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right... I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong, that's home. That's why I came back... 'cause you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can." Bilbo said with an air of pride about him. Addy noticed a change in her friend, he seemed more confident in himself than before. She would have to ask him what happened in those caves when they were alone next. Happy to see her friend back Addy engulfed him in a hug.

"I thought we had lost you back there!" She whispered to him. Bilbo returned the hug, comforted by her worry for him. Addy suddenly felt her ring pull towards something in his pocket. She looked down to see if she could discern what it was that made it respond so but was distracted by Bilbo's response.

"Oh, I could never leave you behind with this lot now could I?" He said playfully. As the two separated a deep howl erupted from high upon the mountain.

"Wargs." Dwalin spat.

"Out of the frying pan." Thorin said.

"And into the fire!" Gandalf finished.

"Run!" Thorin cried out as they all made a mad dash down the slope of the mountain in hopes of finding some sort of safety down below.


End file.
